Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many parents were (a) investigated and (b) prosecuted for failing to ensure that their children attended school on a sufficiently regular basis in each of the last five years.

The Department for Education does not collect data regarding local investigations of parents who fail to ensure their school registered children attend school regularly.

The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales and it is published online at:

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly-december-2013

The Ministry of Justice has provided the information you requested in the attached spreadsheet.