Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Jeremy Wright (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 24 November 2005 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Truancy

Question: I am sure that the Minister will agree that the figure is far too high. The Government have spent just under £1 billion on combating truancy, yet the rate of unauthorised absence is higher now than when Labour came to power. Does she think that the taxpayer is getting good value for money from the Government's anti-truancy schemes?

Answer: The amount of money that the hon. Gentleman quoted goes towards a wide range of measures, most of which, contrary to press reports, are focused on behaviour rather than truancy. However, Opposition Members need to understand the real story, which is that the 1995–96 absences total of more than 7.5 per cent. of half-day sessions missed was a record high since statistics were first collected. Since the Government took control and started bearing down on absences as a whole, the figure has fallen every year for the past four years and is now down to below 6.5 per cent. The hon. Gentleman must also understand that head teachers are trying to bear down on authorised as well as unauthorised absences—for example, by refusing to give parents permission to take their children out of school for holidays in term time. That is bringing down the overall level, but it has resulted in a very small increase on last year in authorised absences. He has to take the picture as a whole—

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 439 c1651-2
Session: 2005-06
Oral question type: 1st Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Related items: Truancy
Monday, 28 November 2005
Written questions
House of Commons
Subjects: Absenteeism Pupils Schools Truancy
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk