§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will ensure that local education authorities make all the family circumstances of disabled children with unemployed parents available to magistrates before fines or imprisonment for truancy are imposed. [HL2368]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)In deciding upon a sentence in these cases, magistrates must take into account a variety of factors including the physical and mental health of the child and the parent's financial circumstances.
The Department for Education and Skills has published guidance setting out that the local education authority representative in these cases should present a witness statement to the court which should include details of the family and home visits. Documentary evidence relating to mitigating factors (such as those set out above) may also be presented where available.
If the court is not satisfied that it has sufficient information about the family, it may adjourn pending a full pre-sentence report.