Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many requests for releases of children's sensitive personal confidential data at pupil-level from the National Pupil Database have been approved since March 2012.

According to centrally held records at the time of writing, from August 2012 to 20 December 2017, 919 data shares containing sensitive, personal or confidential data at pupil level have been approved for release from the National Pupil Database.

For the purpose of this answer, we have assumed the term sensitive, personal or confidential uses of information to be data shares classified as either Tier 1 or Tier 2 as set out in the National Pupil Database area on GOV.UK.

There were 95 data shares approved between March 2012 and this classification system being introduced. Determining how many of these contained, sensitive, personal or confidential information would incur disproportionate costs.

Applications to use the National Pupil Database are only approved following strong considerations that the application is proportionate and for the public benefit, and that the receiving organisation satisfies the Department that it complies with the strict information security standards we require.