§ 4. Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent discussions she has had with local education authorities on the question of truancy.
§ Miss Margaret JacksonLast July, my right hon. Friend and I had a useful meeting with the local authority associations and the Magistrates Association, and the question of behavioural problems, including truancy, was also discussed at the York conference on comprehensive education last December at which a number of chief education officers and councillors were present.
§ Mr. McCrindleDoes the Minister accept that on any given day it is estimated that up to 150,000 children may be absent from British schools without 201 due cause? Does not that concern her terribly?
The Secretary of State told me last year of the forthcoming discussions with the local education authorities. Will she now say what resulted from them and what action we can expect in the very near future?
§ Miss JacksonThe estimates to which the hon. Gentleman referred must be guesses, as no statistics have been collected nationally since 1974. A number of things have changed since then, including the Government. I have told the hon. Gentleman before that one of the principal matters that came out of the meeting with the local authorities was that Her Majesty's Inspectorate is conducting a survey both of what is happening in special units which many local authorities have set up and also in schools which have shown particular success in dealing with truants. Many local authorities are carrying out work and surveys of their own.
§ Mr. SkinnerWill the Minister confirm that the attendance record at schools in Great Britain is much higher than it is in Parliament on any given day? Will she also accept that if we abolished school meal charges the attendance record would be even higher? Even if she is not aware of it, many parents now find it a struggle to find the necessary money with which to send their children to school, and rather than have their children subjected to this horrifying means test some of them stay away.
§ Miss JacksonI am aware that many parents have difficulty with all manner of income problems. We regret this. We changed the scales for school meals assistance to make them much more generous in order to assist those parents. I accept my hon. Friend's argument. Nothing is good enough other than full help, but that is not possible at present. as he knows.
§ Dr. BoysonIs the Minister aware that last week the report of the Institute of Mathematics said that 18 per cent. of children throughout the country at the age of 16 who took the test were absent from school, and that 28 per cent. in London were absent on that day? Does not this show what the real figure of truancy is as compared with the figure for 202 February 1974, which is continually used in the House and has no relationship with children missing from school?
Will the Minister assure us that inspectors—we are not talking only about special units—went in to check the registers in schools to make sure that those marked present were actually in the building?
§ Miss JacksonI am aware that a number of different authorities in different groups have studied attendance. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman has not read with care those reports which were specifically directed towards truancy and has not observed that only a small minority of children are known to be absent without parents' knowledge and consent.
§ Dr. Boyson indicated dissent.
§ Miss JacksonIt is no use the hon. Gentleman saying "No". I refer him to reports from authorities such as Sheffield which have specifically studied truancy and have not tried to pick up figures as a by-line of something else. He will find, as usual, that the problem is difficult but less dramatic than he pretends.