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School Exclusions

Mr. Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many pupils were excluded from school (a) in total and (b) as a percentage of the school population for each of the past 10 years. [113278]

Ms Estelle Morris [holding answer 6 March 2000]: The number of permanent exclusions from maintained schools (except Special Schools) submitting returns under the voluntary National Exclusions Reporting System which covered the period from April 1990 to April 1992 was 2,910 in year one and 3,833 in year two.

My Department first began collecting data on permanent exclusions from maintained schools in England in relation to the school year 1994-95 and the latest available data relate to the school year 1997-98. The available figures are shown in the table.

Information on permanent exclusions for the academic year 1998-99 is currently being collected and national estimates are expected to be published in a Statistical First Release in May.

Number and percentage of pupils who were permanently excluded from maintained primary and secondary schools and special schools(12) in England: 1994-95 to 1997-98

	Number of permanent exclusions	Percentage of school population(13)
1997-98	12,298	0.16
1996-97	12,668	0.17
1995-96	12,476	0.17
1994-95(14)	11,084	0.15

(12) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools.

(13) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of full-time and part-time pupils of all ages.

(14) The number of permanent exclusions was estimated to take account of a small number of schools that did not provide any information on their permanent exclusions (excluding dually registered pupils in special schools) in January of the academic year.

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Equal Opportunities

Ms Drown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment how many (a) inquiries and (b) requests for assistance were received by (i) the Equal Opportunities Commission and (ii) the Commission for Racial Equality in each of the last two years, in respect of (1) all areas and (2) further education; and how many requests for assistance were taken up in each case. [113493]

Ms Hodge: In 1998, the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) handled 34,857 inquiries and considered 225 requests for assistance in all areas. The EOC supported 81 of these cases. The EOC does not hold separate data on the number of inquiries and requests for assistance for Further Education cases.

In the same year the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) dealt with approximately 7,000 inquiries and received 1,657 requests for assistance, of which 43 were from the Further Education sector (including Sixth Form Colleges). The CRE provided some form of representation in 378 cases, including six Further Education cases.

Details of inquiries and assistance for 1999 for both equality bodies will be available later this year after the publication of their respective Annual Reports.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Crime (Slough)

16. Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the chief constable of the Thames Valley police about tackling crime in Slough. [112588]

Mr. Charles Clarke: I have had no recent discussions with the chief constable of the Thames Valley police on this subject.

Local Elections

17. Ms Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what election pilot projects for the forthcoming local elections have been approved; and if he will make a statement. [112589]

Mr. Mike O'Brien: Forty-two pilot schemes have been provisionally approved by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary.

Of these, 16 involve early voting, eight involve all postal ballots, six involve electronic voting or counting, four involve extension of postal vote entitlement, four involve a mobile polling facility, two involve extension of hours of poll, one involves weekend voting and one involves freepost arrangements.

Safe Cells

18. Mr. Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many safe cells will be installed in prisons in the next financial year. [112590]

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Mr. Boateng: All new prisons are required to provide cells which reflect the design requirements of the Prison Service's new improved standard cell or "safe cell".

All future new prisons will similarly be required to reflect the design requirements of the Prison Service's new improved standard cell.

Youth Offenders (Greater Manchester)

19. Ms Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the Greater Manchester police force about known youth offenders. [112591]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Through the Youth Justice Board for England and Wales we have been discussing with the police and other agencies in Greater Manchester their involvement as one of the Board's nine pathway areas, which will act as examples of good practice in work with young offenders. The Board is investing more than £5 million over three years in Greater Manchester from its development fund for this purpose.

Passports (Compensation)

20. Mr. Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much compensation has been paid to holiday makers who were unable to obtain passports during the summer of 1999; and if he will make a statement. [112592]

Mrs. Roche: In 1999, the Passport Agency paid around £124,000 in compensation to customers who missed holidays as a result of delays last summer in issuing their passports.

Stop and Search

21. Mr. Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of stop and search in the prevention and detection of crime. [112593]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We strongly support the proper use of stop and search as an essential tool in the prevention and detection of crime, as did the report of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, published in February 1999. However, it is essential that these powers are used fairly, to command the confidence of all sections of the community. We have commissioned a wide-ranging programme of research to help broaden understanding of stop and search and how it can be improved. This includes a project focusing on the value of stop and search as a tool to detect and prevent crime.

Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the impact on his policy of Article 5 of the ECHR on his policy on the detention element involved in police stop and search operations. [114377]

Mr. Charles Clarke: We believe that the police power of stop and search is compatible with the Convention, provided of course that it is exercised lawfully.

Crime Reduction (Five-year Targets)

22. Mr. Linton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to publish the final

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five-year targets for crime reduction for each police authority; and what measures he intends to take to help police authorities reach their targets. [112594]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Police authorities are required to publish their Best Value Performance Plans by 31 March each year. These will include their crime reduction targets. The Crime Reduction Strategy published on 29 November sets out in detail the Government's approach to reducing crime.

Security Services (Parliamentary Oversight)

23. Mr. Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on parliamentary oversight of the Security Services and the Metropolitan police following the implementation of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. [112595]

Mr. Charles Clarke: Oversight of the Security Service is provided for by the Security Service Act 1989 and the Intelligence Services Act 1994.

For the Metropolitan police, the Greater London Authority Act 1999 sets up a new, independent Police Authority that will be responsible for securing an efficient and effective police force and for holding the Metropolitan police to account.

My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary will have a continuing responsibility for the national and international functions of the Metropolitan police. He will also continue to have responsibility for the promotion of an efficient and effective police service in England and Wales, of which the Metropolitan police is a significant part. He will be accountable to Parliament in exercising those duties.

Domestic Violence

24. Mrs. Brinton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to tackle domestic violence. [112596]

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25. Ms Christine Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures the Government are taking to tackle domestic violence. [112597]

Mr. Boateng: We have:

run a successful 'Break the Chain' campaign specifically against domestic violence;

published a joint Home Office/Women's Unit document 'Living without Fear: an integrated approach to tackling violence against women';

taken steps to improve the collection of statistics by introducing better definition of what should be counted as a domestic violence incident;

announced a specific initiative within the Crime Reduction Programme on violence against women: the major component of this is the provision of at least £4.5 million for the funding of projects to reduce both physical and sexual domestic violence; and

issued new guidance to the criminal justice and other agencies that deal with the survivors of domestic violence.

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