HC Deb 01 July 1992 vol 210 c570W
Mr. Byers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will establish a national system to monitor the number of exclusions of pupils from schools.

Mr. Steinberg

To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils have been expelled(a) permanently and (b) temporarily from schools in the United Kingdom for each year since 1981; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Forth

Where schools in England are concerned, information on temporary exclusions is not collected centrally. Information on permanent exclusions is being collected under the national exclusions reporting system —NERS—over a two-year period beginning with the summer term 1990. Data from year one of the exercise are being analysed; those for year two are still coming in. My right hon. Friend will review the operation of the exclusion provisions of the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 in the light of the NERS data and other evidence.