Yorkshire families are fined £1.1m for term-time holidays

PARENTS in Yorkshire have been issued with more than 30,000 fines totalling £1.1m in the past 18 months for taking their children out of school during term time '“ with enforcement set to get even tougher following a landmark legal ruling.
More than £1m has been handed out in fines to parents in Yorkshire for taking their children out of school during term time.More than £1m has been handed out in fines to parents in Yorkshire for taking their children out of school during term time.
More than £1m has been handed out in fines to parents in Yorkshire for taking their children out of school during term time.

An investigation by The Yorkshire Post shows families face a postcode lottery, with some local authorities issuing more financial penalties for unauthorised absence than others.

And in the wake of a decision by the Supreme Court to uphold a ban on parents taking children out of school for holidays during term time, one council is already preparing to clamp down.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

North Yorkshire County Council, which almost halved the number of fines issued in 2015-16 to 424 from 929 the previous academic year, confirmed it would be calling for schools to report unauthorised absences for holidays taken in term time.

When a High Court ruling in May last year cleared Isle of Wight father Jon Platt of failing to ensure his daughter’s regular attendance at school, North Yorkshire County Council suspended issuing penalty notices for unauthorised absence if a child’s school attendance was 90 per cent or above in the previous six months, including any holiday.

But corporate director for children and young people’s services Pete Dwyer said the council was now reviewing its guidance, adding: “There is evidence that even short unauthorised absences from school can have an adverse impact on a child’s education.

“The county council will require schools to report any unauthorised absence for holidays taken in term time and will seek to prosecute when appropriate.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A council can issue a fine of £60, which rises to £120 if the parent does not pay within 21 days. But the regime was thrown into disarray after last year’s ruling.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) show that in some parts of 
Yorkshire – amid the uncertainty surrounding Mr Platt’s legal battle – the money collected in the last two terms is already significantly higher than the whole of the previous academic year.

In Bradford in the 2015-16 school year, 4,985 fines were issued, with the council collecting £129,485. Since September, despite a lower number of penalty notices handed out – 3,165 – the council has already collected £153,950.

Bradford Council’s deputy director for education Judith Kirk said: “It is important to stress that it is for headteachers to determine if the requests for leave of absence are reasonable. Each request should be judged on a case-by-case basis.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Figures for the last three years show an almost 50/50 split in the number of councils issuing more fines in the 2015-16 academic year compared with 2014-15.

Half of the region’s authorities, including Leeds and York, continued to hand out a rising number of fines while awaiting the Supreme Court’s verdict, but some councils, including Sheffield and Wakefield, backed off.

Fines ‘more likely’: Page 7.