HC Deb 19 January 1982 vol 16 cc148-9
16. Mr. Heddle

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what are the latest available figures for the number of secondary school children who are absent on any one day from school without a reasonable explanation.

Mr. William Shelton

A national one-day survey in 1974 revealed that in maintained middle and secondary schools in England and Wales 87,400 pupils—2.2 per cent. of the total—were absent from school without a known good reason.

Mr. Heddle

Does my hon. Friend agree that hard core truancy can be the seed-corn of juvenile crime? Is he not, therefore, alarmed that in some inner city areas truancy is as high as 25 per cent.? Does he agree that the existing measures may not be adequate or serve as a suitable deterrent? Will he consider looking further into the matter?

Mr. Shelton

I know my hon. Friend's interest in this matter. In 1979 there were 3,700 prosecutions in England and Wales, mostly for truancy. The education welfare service is responsible and I hope that local education authorities will make sure that it plays a responsible part.

Mr. Skinner

Can the Minister, or one of his colleagues, supply the necessary information about how many Members of Parliament are absent on any given day without reasonable explanation? I am certain that the figures will show that the absentee rate is higher here than it is in the schools.

Mr. Shelton

To judge from the usual state of the Benches opposite, the hon. Gentleman can supply that information better than we can.

Mr. Stokes

In view of the connection between truancy and crime, has my hon. Friend noticed that, unfortunately, of those who cannot read, many become criminals from the age of 15 onwards?

Mr. Shelton

I accept that my hon. Friend may have a point. I have no knowledge or information on the correlation.