Jon Platt v Isle of Wight Council and the Department for Education In this feature term-time absences l Supreme Court ruling l holiday price regulation Passports, tickets, school fines The Supreme Court has upheld the details of the ban on parents taking their children on term-time holidays so, asks bruce Treloar, what is the impact for trading standards officers? B y now, I expect most people are aware of the Supreme Court ruling on term-time absences (holidays), published on 6 April 2017. In a unanimous decision, the justices said that Jon Platt who took his daughter on a trip to Florida in April 2015, during term time had a case to answer because it was not simply a matter of regular attendance at school, but also a matter of keeping to the rules. The Supreme Court overturned the May 2016 High Court ruling, which had agreed u NAuTHOrIS E D ABS ENCE: with Platt that he shouldnt have been fined THE FACTS 60 by his local education authority, the Isle of According to education authority guidelines, Wight Council, because his daughter had a a parent or carer can only allow a child to miss good attendance record. school if they are ill, or if permission has been The ruling is seen as a victory for the received in advance from the school. Department for Education, which had Previously, headteachers could grant tightened the rules in 2013 in response to the 10 days of authorised absence, but now they rising number of parents taking their are unable to grant any leave, apart from in childrenout of school during term time to exceptional circumstances. avoid the surge in prices charged by If a child is taken out of school without permission, the parents or carers risk receiving travelcompanies during the peak holiday a fine of 60, which rises to 120 if paid after seasons. This followed a pledge by the then 21 days. If the fine still isnt paid after 28 days, Education Secretary, Michael Gove, to curb the parents or carers may be prosecuted for the scale of unauthorised absences in primary their childs absence from school, and could schools, which were twice as high as in be fined up to 2,500, or receive a jail secondary schools. sentence of three months. Up until the Supreme Court judgment, Both parents have a responsibility to ensure Platthad stated there was a very good regular school attendance by their child, and chance that if the childs attendance is more failure to do so will result in each parent being than 92.3 per cent local authorities would charged with the offence. withdraw their fines. Since the judgment, he has advised all parents with outstanding fines to pay them. Impact for trading standards Holidays in August can cost up to 3,000 more than they do in June Enforcing the rules is the responsibility of the local education authority, which will inevitably involve and question trading standards about holiday companies pledges to pay any fines incurred by a family taking a child out of school in term time, for the duration of the holiday. Trading standards responsibility remains the financial protection of package-holiday costs and the liability of the company when providing the holiday. The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations (CPRs) 2008 could possibly be used as a means of preventing a statement in advertising such as paying school fines that may mislead an average consumer into thinking they can take their child out of school to go on holiday, with the company paying the fine. In 2014, the Advertising Standards Agency contacted me about this whole question of unauthorised absences from school after the appearance of an advert by skiing company Mountainbase. The advert on Facebook on 17 March 2014 stated: MontainBase 5 march Are schools in the uk taking the PiSTE! we think so? Especially with record Snow levels across morzine and yet more snow due to land in the next few days to provide excellent piste conditions. So we have a special offer which is as follow. book a week with children at mountainbase/inferno we will if you receive a fine from your school/ local authority pay the fine on copy of a receipt from yourselves. This is based on any booking in march/April except the free ski pass option. book via - http://www.mountainbase.net/index.php?cid=208 This advert had no specific breach of any law that trading standards officers could enforce, although it is obviously contrary to the Education Act 1966, Section 444 (1), which states that: if a parent knows their child is failing to attend regularly at school, and fails without reasonable justification to cause them to attend, the parent is guilty of an offence. There is, of course, the issue that this type of advert would, after the Platt court case, be complicit in persuading consumers to break the law. With changes in holiday legislation expected in the new Package Travel Directive, trading standards would have to assess whether Mountainbase was selling packages, linked travel arrangements, or even website click-through arrangements first and perhaps consider the enhanced consumer measures under the Enterprise Act 2016 to help consumers who have been misled. But the outcome of the Platt case is specific schools are no longer able to grant authorised absence for holidays. Tourism sharks When he was Education Secretary, Gove labelled the travel industry tourism sharks so is the UK travel industry taking the piste with the price hikes during the school holiday period? The reason prices are so much higher in the summer months is due to high demand, says Mark Tanzer, chief executive of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). It is not just British holidaymakers who want to travel then many of our European neighbours also choose to holiday in July and August, when good weather is virtually guaranteed. In the low season, many hotels, airlines and other sections of the industry have to discount prices to encourage people to travel. Tanzer adds that ABTA members have long advocated school holidays being staggered by region, in a coordinated way. This, he says, works well in other countries such as France and Germany and has helped to alleviate some of the sharp peaks in pricing, expand the travel window, and ease the pressure on family budgets. W OrTH THE rISk? The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO) believed Goves idea of So why do parents take their children out of regulating prices to stop school-holiday school? Often to take a holiday that would become prohibitively expensive once schools hikes was unrealistic, unworkable, and break up. I researched price increases during the commercial suicide. peak period and found that holidays in August can Its not a case of putting up prices in cost up to 3,000 more than in June. the summer its a case of having to discount at the beginning and end of the Average cost increase (in pounds sterling) of a season to sell them, says Derek Moore, four-person family holiday outside term time: chair of AITO, whose members, I was told, do not profit unreasonably. rhodes Holiday Village Moore suggests that travel companies 5 stars 2,965 need to do more to educate the public about the way their businesses work, and Gran Canaria TUI Family Life Bahia Feliz Orguidea 4 stars 2,227 he points to other sectors such as florists who also adjust their prices Costa Brava Golden Taurus Park Resort according to demand. Im sure if Mr 4 stars 1,903 Gove bought flowers for the good Mrs Gove on 15 February, hed get them a lot Ibiza Holiday Village Seaview cheaper than on the 14th. 4 stars 1,899 This point was supported by Tanzer, who said ABTA had been working hard Orlando Disneys Art of Animation Resort, to explain and justify school-holiday price 3 stars 1,368 rises to politicians and the public. Wehave made this point over the years in literally hundreds of radio and TV interviews, and we will continue to do so, he says. The price of politics It would appear that regulating holiday prices is impossible, attendance at school and term-time holidays has been clarified, tour operators will continue to be enthusiastic with their price promotions, and price hikes during the peak holiday period are inevitable. Tanzer made a final point that had me thinking this business of regulating prices is unlikely to occur: We did a substantial amount of work with politicians prior to a debate in parliament, following a petition calling for school holiday prices to be regulated, he says. MPswere properly briefed and concluded that the issue was simply one of supply and demand. However, this was before the announcement of a June General Election. This issue may well become a political bargaining point! THE CONTINuING CAS E The Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the appeal by the Isle of Wight Council and the Department for Education, means the case will now be returned to the magistrates court, where Platt says he will continue to plead not guilty. Delivering the judgment in the Platt case, the deputy president of the Supreme Court, Lady Hale, said: Unauthorised absences have a disruptive effect, not only on the education of the individual child, but also on the work of other pupils. If one pupil can be taken out whenever it suits the parent, then so can others. Any educational system expects people to keep to the rules. Not to do so is unfair to those obedient parents who do keep the rules, whatever the costs or inconvenience to themselves. The next hearing, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates Court, will take place on 22 May. Credits Bruce Treloar is CTSI lead officer for holiday and travel law. Images: iStock.com/Choreograph iStock.com/SolStock To share this page, in the toolbar click on You might also like Direction of travel December 2016