§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of school absences are attributable to parents taking school children on holiday during term-time; and whether they support the nationwide introduction of the six-term, standard school year as recommended by the Local Government Association. [HL4769]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Filkin)The Government encourage parents wherever possible to book holidays during the school holidays. The department does not collect information on the reasons for pupils' absence from school. However, there is evidence from other sources that around 15 per cent of all absence is a result of term-time holidays.
The Secretary of State wrote to the Local Government Association (LGA) in February 2004 stating his personal support for LGA proposals for a standard school year, at the same time as recognising practical issues that LGA and its member authorities will need to address in order to build a consensus for change.
§ Lord Harrisonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they support Sheffield and Sunderland local education authorities who have negotiated a scheme with local travel agents offering discounts on family holidays taken during school holidays. [HL4770]
§ Lord FilkinThe Government encourage parents wherever possible to book holidays during the school holidays. Sheffield and Sunderland are just two of a number of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) that have established initiatives with local travel agents to offer discounts on family holidays taken during school holidays. The Government welcome this approach and is discussing with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and the Federation of Travel Operators (FTO) whether such local arrangements could be extended.