Parents of children who play truant will have their child benefit docked if they fail to pay fines, under measures announced by David Cameron.
At present, non-payment of the £60 civil penalty in England leads to it being doubled to £120 after 21 days and subject to prosecution after 28, but 40% still fail to pay and many do not end up in court because councils do not pursue legal action.
The prime minister said tougher action would “tackle the harm truancy does to a child’s chances in life”, citing statistics that show that fewer than 17% of children with 28 days’ absence at key stage four achieve the English baccalaureate, compared with 44% of those who missed no lessons.
He also announced that parents in England would have the right to request breakfast and after-school clubs or holiday care at their schools. Childcare providers will have the right to request the use of school facilities to operate clubs.
The child benefit plans, unveiled at the Conservative party conference in Manchester, are expected to cut councils’ legal costs by removing the need to take non-payers to court.
But local authorities will be put under a new duty to pursue penalties through the courts in cases where parents do not receive child benefit because they earn more than £50,000.
Figures obtained by the Press Association showed that 16,430 people in England were prosecuted last year for failing to ensure that a child went to school – with about three-quarters (12,479) found guilty. Courts issued 9,214 parents with fines worth an average of £172.
Cameron said: “We are determined to tackle the harm truancy does to a child’s chances in life. There is nothing responsible about allowing your child to go without an education. So for parents who let their child play truant and refuse to pay truancy penalties, we will deduct it from their child benefit.”
Schools will not be obliged to provide holiday care or “wraparound” clubs when asked, but will have to give reasons why if they do not grant requests from groups of parents or childcare providers. The right to request will apply to all state-maintained primary schools, as well as academies and free schools, but headteachers will not have to consider requests to use their sites during school hours or when they already operate clubs.
Cameron said the move would increase childcare outside of school hours, allowing parents to work longer hours if they wanted to.
“Ensuring children get the best start in life is at the heart of our plans,” he said.
“We want to help hard-working parents with their childcare plans, so we will give families the right to request that their schools provide childcare for a full working day, before and after school and during the school holidays.” Downing Street sources said the childcare proposals would be cost-neutral.