Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in England in each year, over the last three academic years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions related to school attendance offences were brought in Cornwall in each year, over the last three academic years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance. This data is available through the Outcomes by Offence data tool which shows how many people have been prosecuted each year and the All Offences data tool which shows how many cases have been prosecuted each year. To see data for school attendance offences select Home Office Offence codes 11203 and 11204, and to calculate the number per academic year select monthly breakdowns.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
The MoJ does not publish a breakdown of prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department holds any analysis on the potential effects of the national penalty notice threshold, introduced in August 2024, on school attendance rates.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The causes of school absence are complex, and penalty notices are one part of a wider toolkit to help ensure children receive the education they are entitled to. The government remains committed to a support- first approach, with enforcement only used where support is not appropriate, has not been engaged with, or is not proving effective.
Recent data suggests this approach is having a positive impact. In 2024 to 2025, the rate of absence due to unauthorised holidays fell from 0.53% to 0.48%, equating to around 1.3 million fewer missed sessions compared with 2023 to 2024. Penalty notices are primarily targeted at term-time holidays, which accounted for 93% of notices issued in 2024 to 2025.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions for school attendance offences in England in each of the last three academic years resulted in (a) a conviction, (b) a withdrawal, and (c) an unsuccessful outcome.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool shows how many people have been prosecuted and convicted each year, and how many have had their cases withdrawn or received an unsuccessful outcome. The All Offences data tool shows how many cases have been prosecuted and convicted each year. To find school attendance offences, users should select Home Office offence codes 11203 and 11204. Monthly breakdowns can be used to calculate figures for each academic year.
The data does not provide figures specifically for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area. This area covers a wider geographical area than Cornwall and cannot be used to provide a Cornwall-only figure.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many prosecutions for school attendance offences in Cornwall in each of the last three academic years resulted in (a) a conviction, (b) a withdrawal, and (c) an unsuccessful outcome.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing results at criminal courts in England for offences relating to school attendance.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool shows how many people have been prosecuted and convicted each year, and how many have had their cases withdrawn or received an unsuccessful outcome. The All Offences data tool shows how many cases have been prosecuted and convicted each year. To find school attendance offences, users should select Home Office offence codes 11203 and 11204. Monthly breakdowns can be used to calculate figures for each academic year.
The data does not provide figures specifically for Cornwall. However, users can extract monthly figures for the Devon and Cornwall Police Force Area. This area covers a wider geographical area than Cornwall and cannot be used to provide a Cornwall-only figure.
The Outcomes by Offence data tool and All Offences data tool are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-march-2026.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if her Department will release an estimation of the legal costs incurred in prosecuting school attendance offences in each of the last three academic years.
Answered by Paul Waugh - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The department does not hold data on the legal costs incurred in prosecuting school attendance offences.
Statutory guidance on attendance makes it clear that legal intervention, including prosecution, should be considered only where support has been exhausted, where it has not been engaged with, or in the cases of term-time holidays, where support is not appropriate.
The guidance also sets out clear expectations for how schools, local authorities and wider services should work together to support attendance for all children.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an estimate of the potential revenue raised by introducing a voluntary discounted settlement scheme for Plan 2 student loan borrowers whose loans are not projected to be repaid in full.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
One of the fundamental principles of student loans is that repayments are income contingent and only due when the borrower is earning over the relevant repayment threshold. Outstanding debt, including interest accrued, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower. These protections exceed what discounted settlement schemes typically offer to borrowers.
Borrowers already have the ability to make additional, voluntary repayments towards their student loan, with no penalty, if they wish to do so.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of introducing transitional financial support for people to train as paramedics under the Plan 2 university-only model, in the context of the availability of apprenticeship pathways for paramedics.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
There are different routes to becoming a paramedic, including traditional full-time university study and apprenticeship pathways.
Students undertaking traditional higher education routes to becoming a paramedic, such as on their first degree-level course can generally access student finance for their paramedic studies.
Plan 5 loan terms and conditions apply to students starting eligible courses from 1 August 2023, and there are no plans to introduce differential terms for paramedic students.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take legislative steps to ensure kinship carers receive an allowance equivalent to that provided to foster carers.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
Kinship carers play a vital role in providing stable, loving homes for children who cannot live with their parents, and the government recognises the significant contribution they make.
The department is testing the impact of financial support through the Kinship Zones pilot, including an allowance set at the fostering National Minimum Allowance. This pilot is designed to support up to 5,000 families over the life of the pilot, with over £126 million confirmed for the first two years while we test and learn.
The pilot is exploring how this can improve outcomes for children in kinship care and provide greater stability for families. An independent evaluation will track outcomes for carers and children and will inform any future policy decisions.
The department is also investing in wider support for kinship families, including ensuring all local authorities publish a kinship local offer and that all kinship carers have access to free information, support and peer group services nationally.
Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The provisions in the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 are kept under review and updated through primary legislation. We are currently seeking to make updates through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, including in part II of the act, which makes provision for the employment of children in England and Wales.