Parents fined £2m for taking kids out of school

PARENTS in Lancashire were fined £2m for taking their kids on holiday during term-time or for unauthorised absences over five years.

Information obtained through the Freedom of Information Act shows that in the last five years a total of 32,721 fines were issued by Lancashire County Council.

Councils can issue fines of £60 to parents for unauthorised absences or unauthorised holidays during term-time. The fine rises to £120 if it is not paid within 21 days.

Of the 32,271 fines issued between 2016 and 2020 in Lancashire the vast majority, 31,402, were for children going on holiday during term-time. On average around 33 fines are issued every day during the school year of approximately 195 days.

The January 2020 census showed that there are 175,701 pupils at 628 schools in Lancashire. Lancashire County Council is responsible for maintaining 592 of the county’s schools - 492 primary schools and 100 secondary schools.

If all of the 32,271 fines were paid within 21 days this represents an income of £1,963,260 for the council but in theory the revenue could be anything up to £3,926,520.

If fines continue to remain unpaid parents can be taken to court and given a fine of up to £2,500, a community order or a prison sentence of up to three months.

The figures obtained by the Observer reveal that the total number of fines has risen every year since 2016 with 2020 representing an anomaly because of the school closures caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

School policy on Lancashire County Council’s website states that headteachers have the discretion to grant leave, but they can only do so in exceptional circumstances.

If a headteacher authorises a leave request, it will be for them to determine the length of time that the child can be away from school. This leave is unlikely, however, to be granted for the purposes of a family holiday.

County Councillor Jayne Rear, cabinet member for education and skills, said: “Good school attendance is a high priority. It is particularly vital in the current situation that children attend regularly when schools are able to open.

“Any decision to authorise absences are taken by individual headteachers, rather the county council.

“Where a parent fails to send their child to school regularly, schools can request that the county council issues a penalty notice.

“We encourage schools to work with parents to reduce unauthorised absence so that there is not a need for penalty notices and children and young people attend school and access their education.”