§ Mr. SteinbergTo ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will give the latest annual statistics on the number of school days lost because of truancy; and what manpower and resources are available to deal with the problem.
§ Mr. ForthInformation on the number of school days lost due to truancy is not collected centrally. Some 3,000 education welfare officers are employed by local education authorities in England and Wales to work with schools and parents in promoting regular school attendance. The Department is also currently supporting 31 local projects designed to improve school attendance under the grants for education support and training (GEST) programme.