More than quarter of a million pounds in fines for North East parents

More than £270,000 in fines were given to North East parents last year for taking their children out of school.

Durham County Council topped the list - with at least 900 fines handed out – the lowest was in Gateshead – where just 50 were slapped with the notice.

Well figures in our region are actually some of the lowest in the country - compared to 1.5million in fines for the North West – the breakdown for our region is here;

But, Law Firm Simpson Millar is urging parents to challenge prosecutions because they MIGHT be unlawful, as Samantha Hale explains;

“If a parent gets a fine, they should be seeking legal advice to see if there’s anything that can be done to address that specific fine,

“One of the things that we will be looking into is the policy the local authority has and whether or not the issuing of that fine is in accordance with that policy.

“If we’ve got a parent in one local authority, who has relied on a policy, and has taken their child out of school on the basis of that, thinking they’re not going to get a fine,

“The chances are they’re not going to be the only parent in that situation – obviously, if we’ve got multiple claimants, it makes a stronger case.”

The firm is calling on parents to challenge these fines if they get them.