The Prime Minister has announced new measures to help more children get the best start in life: a right for parents to request childcare at their child’s school; and the docking of child benefit for parents whose children play truant and do not pay penalties.
Access to holiday and wrap-around care is a key issue for many working parents and we can use school sites better to help parents get childcare when they need it. That is why we are giving groups of parents the right to request childcare in the form of breakfast and after-school clubs or holiday care at their child’s school.
Childcare providers, such as childminders, breakfast and after school clubs, and holiday clubs, will have the right to request use of school sites outside school hours. This will increase the supply of childcare for working parents outside school hours, improving the availability of childcare so parents are able to work for longer, if they choose to do so.
As well as helping working parents with childcare, we want to ensure parents take responsibility for their children’s actions. Persistent truancy can ruin a child’s future and we want to do all we can to tackle it.
So new rules will mean that families who refuse to pay truancy penalties and are in receipt of Child Benefit will automatically have their child benefit docked to cover the penalty, significantly reducing local authorities having to pursue payment through the courts. Local Authorities will be under a new duty to pursue these penalties, including from those who do not receive Child Benefit, with unpaid penalties ultimately pursued through the courts.
The £60 civil penalty, which increases to £120 if it goes unpaid for 21 days, will now be mandatory. It will be clawed back through child benefit if it is unpaid after 28 days.
The Prime Minister said: “Ensuring children get the best start in life is at the heart of our plans. We want to help hardworking 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.
“We are also 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.”
