Council nets £1.6m from school attendance fines

Over the past three academic years, a county council has slapped parents with fines totalling more than £1.6m because their children have missed school.

Hampshire County Council has issued more than 10,000 penalties since 2022, raising £1,666,113 over the three school years since 2021/22, a Freedom of Information request has found.

Hampshire County Council said the increase in fines reflected a rise in absences, both nationally and locally.

It added that any money collected through the system was designated for the istration of the penalty notice system, with any remaining funds used for attendance .

Data showed that, over the years, penalties in Hampshire had steadily increased.

Parents who take their children out of school during term time without permission must pay £80 per child for the whole absence. If parents do not pay their fine within 21 days, it doubles to £160.

If a parent receives a second fine for the same child within three years, they are immediately charged £160.

In 2022/23, Hampshire County Council generated £363,543 from the fines, while in 2024/25 the figure doubled to £698,403, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The council said that, as the third-largest shire county in England, it had more than 180,000 students attending upwards of 500 schools.

It also highlighted that its 93% attendance rate was above the national average by 0.1%.

A spokesperson for the authority said: "We work closely with schools and families to understand the root cause of serious attendance issues and to identify appropriate and solutions.

"Legal interventions, including fines, are only ever considered after all possibilities are explored and exhausted."

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