To ask Her Majesty's Government how many teachers have been falsely accused of offences in the most recent years for which figures are available. [HL651]

The operation of disciplinary procedures in schools, including the handling of accusations involving teachers, is a matter for local determination. Accordingly the information requested about offences, including accusations that may subsequently turn out to be false, is not routinely held centrally.

In 2007 the Department for Children, Schools and Families carried out a review of allegations against staff working with children and young people across the whole of the children's workforce. 128 local authorities provided data on 3,099 allegations where action was concluded in the period 1 April 2007 to 30 September 2007. 2.8 per cent of these concluded allegations were judged to be malicious and 13.4 per cent were judged to be unfounded. Local authorities were asked to record allegations in all categories that applied, so it is possible that some allegations may have been counted in both of the above categories.