§ Mr. HobanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many children in England and Wales missed at least one half day session of school in(a) 1997–98 and (b) 2002–03 in each local education authority. [150148]
§ Mr. Ivan Lewis[holding answer 26 January 2004]The information requested is shown in the following table for local education authorities in England.
The average number of sessions missed per absent pupil due to authorised and unauthorised absence has also been provided together with the attendance rate in percentage terms.
Absence information for schools in Wales can be obtained from the National Assembly for Wales.
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Public absence in maintained primary and secondary schools in England, 1997/98 and 2002/03 Academic year 1997/98 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate(%) Croydon 36,245 24 5,808 12 92.3 Cumbria 60,232 22 4,358 15 93.2 Darlington 12,504 24 1,416 23 91.8 Derby City 28,722 21 6,323 12 92.6 Derbyshire 87,758 19 13,312 14 93.4 Devon 78,240 20 12,721 9 93.1 Doncaster 39,941 26 7,369 20 91.0 Dorset 44,416 22 6,714 8 93.2 Dudley 38,047 21 3,894 12 93.0 Durham 62,196 25 6,477 23 91.5 Ealing 31,241 22 6,504 14 92.2 East Riding of Yorkshire 38,688 20 5,697 12 93.2 East Sussex 50,293 20 9,412 13 92.9 Enfield 35,406 21 8,772 13 92.6 Essex 159,335 21 24,169 12 93.0 Gateshead 22,551 24 3,420 22 92.1 Gloucestershire 68,726 20 7,319 9 93.5 Greenwich 26,837 23 10,456 17 90.8 Hackney 20,116 24 6,583 16 91.2 Halton 17,808 22 3,536 15 92.4 Hammersmith and Fulham 11,207 24 3,685 20 90.9 Hampshire 142,310 19 21,598 11 93.7 Haringey 21,936 23 8,124 16 91.8 Harrow 24,390 25 3,778 11 92.5 Hartlepool 12,229 22 2,316 23 92.0 Havering 29,254 20 3,522 11 93.3 Herefordshire 19,847 20 1,727 14 93.4 Hertfordshire 125,895 19 15,697 11 93.9 Hillingdon 28,936 22 7,764 13 92.2 Hounslow 27,188 24 6,299 12 91.3 Isle of Wight 15,845 24 2,108 10 91.9 Isles of Scilly 221 21 9 13 92.7 Islington 18,402 23 6,366 17 91.5 Kensington and Chelsea 7,832 21 2,551 17 91.5 Kent 161,121 21 20,573 12 93.0 Kingston upon Hull, City of 36,197 28 11,099 20 89.0 Kingston upon Thames 15,115 20 1,709 14 93.0 Kirklees 51,449 20 12,343 14 92.9 Knowsley 22,664 25 5,876 20 90.7 Lambeth 20,675 24 7,715 12 91.4 Lancashire 144,388 21 18,210 14 93.3 Leeds 87,620 23 18,733 18 91.9 Leicester City 37,981 25 8,904 16 91.2 Leicestershire 77,014 21 8,452 17 93.3 Lewisham 24,291 22 9,524 16 91.3 Lincolnshire 74,147 19 9,203 15 93.5 Liverpool 58,721 28 13,326 20 90.3 London. City of 131 10 85 11 95.6 Luton 24,982 21 6,076 10 92.8 Manchester 55,120 30 15,385 20 88.9 Medway 35,930 21 6,330 11 92.7 Merton 17,698 23 5,312 15 91.7 Middlesbrough 19,390 26 4,041 15 91.0 Milton Keynes 27,790 23 3,258 13 92.1 Newbury 19,029 22 1,697 14 91.1 Newcastle upon Tyne 30,171 27 5,248 18 90.9 Newham 35,427 21 19,203 15 92.7 Norfolk 88,667 21 12,707 13 91.6 North East Lincolnshire 23,776 23 3,325 25 92.9 North Lincolnshire 20,161 21 3,075 15 93.5 North Somerset 21,883 19 2,490 17 93.0 North Tyneside 24,011 21 1,582 23 94.1 North Yorkshire 65,408 18 5,049 12 93.1 Northamptonshire 79,026 21 13,657 12 93.4 Northumberland 38,235 21 2,872 17 90.2 Nottingham City 32,818 26 11,802 20 92.8 Nottinghamshire 93,785 20 15,729 17 91.6 Oldham 33,330 25 7,473 17 93.0 Oxfordshire 67,119 20 13,318 13 92.1 Peterborough City 23,068 23 4,879 12 93.1 Plymouth 32,983 20 5,942 10 92.5
Public absence in maintained primary and secondary schools in England, 1997/98 and 2002/03 Academic year 1997/98 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate (%) Poole 15,127 22 3,135 9 91.1 Portsmouth 21,952 25 5,228 16 92.8 Reading 13,836 20 3,806 14 92.9 Redbridge 30,052 21 6,083 10 91.9 Redcar and Cleveland 20,093 24 2,035 22 93.1 Richmond upon Thames 16,702 21 1,505 18 91.7 Rochdale 25,822 25 5,595 18 91.9 Rotherham 35,586 23 6,582 18 93.7 Rutland 3,997 20 373 14 90.7 Salford 27,039 27 5,601 18 90.9 Sandwell 40,438 26 8,130 16 92.7 Sefton 38,173 22 4,476 12 91.3 Sheffield 58,674 24 16,740 18 93.7 Shropshire 33,566 18 4,625 9 92.6 Slough 13,462 22 3,103 11 93.1 Solihull 29,547 21 2,553 13 93.4 Somerset 57,371 20 6,294 11 93.5 South Gloucestershire 30,396 19 5,258 10 92.5 South Tyneside 20,419 24 1,137 12 92.2 Southampton 26,104 22 6,301 13 92.5 Southend-on-Sea 19,532 21 4,157 15 91.6 Southwark 23,725 23 9,502 18 92.6 St Helens 23,287 23 2,484 10 93.5 Staffordshire 103,311 20 10,580 11 93.2 Stockport 34,554 20 6,561 13 92.6 Stockton on Tees 26,885 22 1,646 22 91.9 Stoke on Trent 31,563 23 5,218 14 93.8 Suffolk 77,371 19 7,336 12 92.2 Sunderland 40,658 24 5,092 16 93.4 Surrey 106,334 20 9,540 11 93.5 Sutton 21,589 20 2,815 10 92.4 Swindon 24,252 23 4,897 10 92.1 Tameside 30,435 24 4,152 17 92.2 The Wrekin 21,919 22 3,932 12 91.8 Thurrock 18,058 23 3,729 16 92.0 Torbay 15,254 23 2,240 9 91.0 Tower Hamlets 25,759 22 13,707 14 92.9 Trafford 28,119 22 2,941 16 92.5 Wakefield 42,261 22 9,319 11 91.4 Walsall 36,899 25 8,141 13 91.6 Waltham Forest 27,576 22 8,338 15 92.0 Wandsworth 19,906 24 4,474 15 93.8 Warrington 25,740 20 2,407 14 93.2 Warwickshire 61,503 21 6,146 14 94.1 West Sussex 83,925 18 9,807 11 93.2 Westminster, City of 13,219 21 4,620 10 90.3 Wigan 41,916 26 5,313 20 92.5 Wiltshire 51,372 24 6,698 20 93.8 Windsor & Maidenhead 14,961 19 1,699 10 93.7 Wirral 42,125 20 4,901 11 92.3 Wokingham 18,953 23 2,345 18 94.4 Wolverhampton 31,133 17 7,312 9 90.8 Worcestershire 64,153 26 8,501 15 93.0 York, City of 17,644 21 1,946 14 94.0 Total 5,974,052 18 1,029,549 14 92.6 664W665W
Academic year 2002–03 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate (%) Barking and Dagenham 23,161 20 10,116 12 92.1 Barnet 36,343 19 7,642 12 93.5 Barnsley 29,266 22 8,556 11 92.1 Bath and North East Somerset 20,332 19 3,838 10 93.4 Bedfirdshire 51,651 19 6,578 8 93.6 Bexley 31,442 21 4,911 11 93.0 Birmingham 140,769 21 39,297 12 92.4 666W667W
Academic year 2002–03 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate (%) Blackburn with Darwen 21,379 22 3,973 14 92.6 Blackpool 17,452 22 4,028 13 92.0 Bolton 36,109 20 5,860 15 93.4 Bournemouth 17,480 20 2,928 7 93.4 Bracknell Forest 12,382 18 1,972 9 93.8 Bradford 64,625 19 25,293 12 92.6 Brent 28,999 21 5,741 10 92.9 Brighton and Hove 25,231 22 6,224 12 92.2 Bristol, City of 39,959 23 11,886 15 91.3 Bromley 37,486 20 7,482 12 93.1 Buckinghamshire 58,283 17 6,847 12 94.3 Bury 24,429 19 3,860 10 93.8 Calderdale 27,343 20 4,974 9 93.6 Cambridgeshire 65,190 19 11,320 10 93.3 Camden 15,632 23 4,629 12 91.5 Cheshire 84,589 18 13,295 13 93.9 Cornwall 62,898 21 9,994 8 92.8 Coventry 38,885 23 5,451 13 92.3 Croydon 39,205 22 10,189 11 92.4 Cumbria 62,095 19 9,001 11 93.8 Darlington 12,296 23 1,316 18 92.3 Derby City 30,258 21 6,842 13 92.7 Derbyshire 93,928 20 19,086 11 93.4 Devon 82,585 20 15,437 10 93.1 Doncaster 40,130 22 8,991 13 92.3 Dorset 46,206 19 6,192 9 93.5 Dudley 42,356 21 6,856 12 92.8 Durham 62,598 22 6,211 12 92.8 Ealing 31,320 20 4,445 11 93.1 East Riding of Yorkshire 41,856 20 5,750 10 93.5 East Sussex 56,132 19 14,364 10 93.1 Enfield 37,968 20 13,889 12 92.4 Essex 167,654 20 27,392 11 93.1 Gateshead 22,882 21 2,925 15 93.1 Gloucestershire 70,961 19 7,520 11 93.7 Greenwich 26,943 21 11,100 15 91.7 Hackney 19,410 21 7,055 15 92.1 Halton 16,628 21 3,717 19 92.2 Hammersmith and Fulham 12,722 21 3,002 16 92.1 Hampshire 150,092 18 27,073 12 93.8 Haringey 26,570 20 12,017 12 91.8 Harrow 24,991 20 2,800 9 93.4 Hartlepool 12,657 19 3,196 16 93.2 Havering 31,577 20 3,738 10 93.0 Herefordshire 20,743 19 2,835 11 93.7 Hertfordshire 134,247 19 20,499 11 93.7 Hillingdon 32,489 21 9,099 12 92.4 Hounslow 26,953 19 7,856 12 92.9 Isle of Wight 16,398 22 2,147 14 92.4 Isles of Scilly 214 17 79 6 93.5 Islington 19,050 21 7,527 11 92.0 Kensington and Chelsea 8,202 19 2,395 10 93.1 Kent 171,884 20 23,907 12 93.3 Kingston upon Hull, City of 34,655 23 9,433 17 91.2 Kingston upon Thames 15,906 19 1,679 10 93.7 Kirklees 52,205 19 10,747 12 93.4 Knowsley 21,427 23 5,657 20 91.5 Lambeth 21,618 19 7,033 9 93.1 Lancashire 146,327 20 19,805 13 93.5 Leeds 89,166 21 21,540 15 92.5 Leicester City 38,771 21 12,139 16 92.0 Leicestershire 80,182 19 12,594 14 93.6 Lewisham 26,789 19 10,890 12 92.6 Lincolnshire 82,913 19 12,184 11 93.6 Liverpool 57,430 24 12,316 16 91.7 London, City of 170 17 0 0 94.7 Luton 27,104 22 5,605 10 92.5 Manchester 52,019 24 12,829 16 91.4 Medway 36,808 21 6,359 10 93.0 668W669W
Academic year 2002–03 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate (%) Merton 16,915 21 3,935 11 92.8 Middlesbrough 18,585 24 3,872 11 91.9 Milton Keynes 28,668 21 4,396 9 93.2 Newbury 19,399 24 2,981 17 91.9 Newcastle upon Tyne 29,416 17 4,942 9 93.6 Newham 35,746 21 16,931 11 92.7 Norfolk 95,378 22 19,621 14 92.2 North East Lincolnshire 23,120 21 4,891 10 93.1 North Lincolnshire 20,887 20 3,815 15 93.2 North Somerset 22,949 20 3,503 16 93.5 North Tyneside 23,607 18 2,408 10 94.0 North Yorkshire 72,758 20 8,109 11 93.0 Northamptonshire 86,330 21 17,324 13 93.2 Northumberland 38,763 22 2,793 16 91.8 Nottingham City 31,294 20 8,503 15 92.9 Nottinghamshire 96,572 21 19,248 13 92.6 Oldham 32,869 18 7,737 10 93.7 Oxfordshire 69,733 21 14,085 11 93.0 Peterborough City 23,508 21 4,907 10 92.9 Plymouth 32,297 18 4,266 10 93.5 Poole 15,953 20 3,448 12 92.4 Portsmouth 21,949 20 6,025 15 92.7 Reading 13,228 18 2,768 10 93.6 Redbridge 32,332 21 8,007 13 93.0 Redcar and Cleveland 19,775 18 2,992 16 93.4 Richmond upon Thames 16,657 21 3,569 13 92.7 Rochdale 28,286 21 7,157 14 92.7 Rotherham 36,857 17 7,338 13 94.4 Rutland 4,346 22 345 14 91.8 Salford 28,092 24 7,358 15 91.3 Sandwell 40,336 20 7,937 12 93.3 Sefton 36,540 21 4,255 15 92.3 Sheffield 61,795 19 16,686 7 93.8 Shropshire 35,004 19 4,247 13 92.9 Slough 15,684 18 3,999 12 93.7 Solihull 29,841 19 4,244 11 93.3 Somerset 61,448 19 7,924 9 93.4 South Gloucestershire 33,294 22 7,974 10 92.8 South Tyneside 19,548 22 2,412 14 92.1 Southampton 25,571 20 5,030 15 92.8 Southend-on-Sea 21,153 18 4,216 12 92.7 Southwark 26,935 22 13,369 18 93.0 St Helens 22,410 19 2,950 10 93.6 Staffordshire 105,022 19 15,492 10 93.7 Stockport 35,473 21 6,084 15 93.3 Stockton on Tees 25,194 20 2,467 14 92.7 Stoke on Trent 29,934 19 7,397 13 93.5 Suffolk 81,873 23 14,165 15 92.6 Sunderland 38,199 18 4,447 11 93.6 Surrey 111,866 18 18,997 10 93.8 Sutton 23,679 19 3,532 11 93.8 Swindon 24,412 22 3,022 9 93.1 Tameside 30,755 21 4,549 9 93.1 The Wrekin 22,289 20 3,067 13 92.4 Thurrock 19,554 20 4,465 10 92.9 Torbay 15,746 18 4,196 9 92.7 Tower Hamlets 28,361 18 14,674 12 94.3 Trafford 27,769 21 2,940 11 92.9 Wakefield 42,799 23 9,397 11 92.2 Walsall 38,143 20 7,503 12 93.0 Waltham Forest 27,687 22 6,816 10 92.8 Wandsworth 20,154 18 5,153 10 94.1 Warrington 25,992 19 4,256 12 93.6 Warwickshire 62,174 19 7,632 10 93.7 West Sussex 89,031 19 12,737 10 93.4 Westminster, City of 14,724 19 5,338 10 92.9 Wigan 41,821 21 4,535 13 93.3 Wiltshire 54,251 19 7,933 9 93.7 Windsor & Maidenhead 15,319 18 3,431 8 93.9
Academic year 2002–03 Authorised absence Unauthorised absence Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Number of pupils that missed a session Average number sessions missed Attendance rate (%) Wirral 42,322 20 4,600 14 93.4 Wokingham 19,181 18 2,451 10 94.0 Wolverhampton 31,702 22 5,819 14 92.3 Worcestershire 65,012 20 8,738 12 93.4 York, City of 19,800 19 4,030 12 93.6 Total 6,183,071 20 1,196,333 12 93.1 Notes
1. Figures relate to maintained primary and secondary schools but exclude maintained special schools and CTCs.
2. Figures cover pupils that were absent between September 1997 and May 1998, and September 2002 and May 2003.