Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Baroness Verma (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 6 April 2010.

Schools: Truancy

Question: My Lords, perhaps I may go back to the Question. When the Government came to power, their focus was on education, education, education: yet despite more than £1 billion being spent on anti-truancy measures, the truancy rate has risen to record levels—up to 44 per cent. Will the Minister say exactly what the money has been spent on?

Answer: My Lords, I must explain to the noble Baroness that what we are looking at here is driving up attendance. That means that we are very concerned to tackle unauthorised and authorised absence. We want to make sure that schools are not allowing parents to take children out of school for holidays and that truancy is tackled in the round. I am particularly pleased that all the investment that we have made in behaviour partnerships and school support staff has resulted in the best ever attendance rates for our young people in this country since records began.

Secondary information