§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils were excluded from secondary school because of(a) drug-related and (b) alcohol-related behaviour in each year since 1997. [176623]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisMy Department started to collect data on the reasons for exclusions, including drug and alcohol related incidents, from summer term 2003. There are concerns about the reliability of the first term's data but initial findings are expected to be released within the next few weeks. The first set of annual figures, relating to 2003/04, will not be available until 2005.