- Kable, Friday 5 February 2010 11.28 GMT
Baroness Morgan, under-secretary of state at the Department for Children, Schools and Families, said the stringent security procedures around the database have prevented any breaches since it was set up in 2002.
Access is confined to a team of seven staff at the department's Darlington office, and they disclose information only to prescribed people for purposes defined by the relevant regulations.
Morgan provided the information in response to a parliamentary question from Baroness Byford, the Conservatives' shadow minister for food and rural affairs in the House of Lords.
Morgan added that the database is used largely to measure school effectiveness and compare pupils' national curriculum assessments. It makes it possible to assess performance at school against factors such as being eligible for free school meals, where children live and ethnicity.
In response to a question about how long information is held on the database, Morgan said a retention policy, including archiving data with National Archives, is currently being developed.
Staff
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