Father’s successful court appeal results in school holiday fine review

35 councils in England have changed their policy on fining parents for term-time holidays, according to a BBC investigation

Last year, father Jon Platt in the Isle of Wight was issued a £120 fine for taking his daughter on a term-time holiday. But he argued that her attendance was regular because even after the holiday it was over the 90 per cent threshold set out by the Isle of Wight in its policy. This argument was accepted by the high court.

Each local authority makes up its own policy on what to do with cases, and as result of the successful appeal, many have had to look again at this matter.

The BBC gathered information from 108 councils and found 35 have changed their policy as a direct result of Jon Platt's case.

A further five are currently reviewing their guidelines and 28 have withdrawn fines issued to parents.

Of the councils that provided information, 22 told the BBC the number of parents taking term-time holidays has increased.

In North Somerset 100 fines have been put on hold while the council considers its policy.

The investigation also found that the number of fixed penalty notices issued to parents varies. For example, while Suffolk issued 6,008 fines in the 2015-16 school year there were just 108 on North Tyneside. Richmond upon Thames issued none in the same period.

The Supreme Court will consider the arguments on Tuesday 31 January, but the final decision may take months.