Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of the rate of fines for parents and carers taking their children out of school during term times on encouraging school attendance.

Tackling absence is at the heart of the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity. The government understands that reasons for absence are varied, which is why updated statutory attendance guidance sets out that schools, trusts and local authorities should always work together with other local partners to understand the barriers to attendance and establish strategies for removing them.

The government’s support-first approach is the right one. Penalty notices should only be used in cases where support is not appropriate, such as in cases of holidays taken in term-time, or where support has already been provided and has not been engaged with or has not worked.

Information about the rates of fixed penalty notices is published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/parental-responsibility-measures.