Written question asked by Lord Willis of Knaresborough (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 22 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 29 June 2004. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Tuesday, 29 June 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what the truancy figures were for each year since 1997, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: Mr. Willis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the truancy figures were for each year since 1997, broken down by (a) gender and (b) ethnicity; and if he will make a statement. [180522] Mr. Ivan Lewis: Truancy figures for schools in England are collected annually from schools and each school provides one set of figures. Information on the characteristics of individual pupils such as gender and ethnicity cannot be derived from these data.

Secondary information