Written question asked by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Hill of Oareford (Conservative) on Thursday, 23 June 2011.

Education: Truancy

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what sanctions they intend to put in place against pupils or their parents who fail to attend education or training when the age of participation is raised to 18.

Answer: When the participation age is raised, to 17 in 2013 and to 18 in 2015, the legislative duty will be on the young person to continue in education or training and not the parent. Enforcement powers for local authorities are set out in the Education and Skills Act (2008). This is a long process involving mainly administrative sanctions, and no young person could enter the enforcement system if there is a reason why they are not participating in education or training. We are legislating through the current Education Bill to enable the Secretary of State to delay the introduction of the enforcement process, and have committed to reviewing the need for it on an annual basis from 2014.

Secondary information