FINES for parents who take their children out of school during term time in York have increased by more than 400 per cent in a year.

Prices of holidays tend to increase during the school holidays, which led to parents booking holidays during term time to save money, but in recent years fines have been issued in an attempt to deter this behaviour.

City of York Council confirmed this week that no fines had been issued in the academic year 2013/14, but ten were issued in 2014/15.

However, 51 parents were fined in the 2015/16 academic year - an increase just under 410 per cent - which the council said was due mainly to the Government's decision to change the permissible absence rate.

Previously, parents of pupils who had 85 per cent attendance were spared the fines, but at the beginning of the 2015/16 academic year, the Government altered the rate to 90 per cent.

York Press:

Maxine Squire, assistant director of schools at the council, said: "We will update our guidelines for schools when the DfE publishes its new guidance."

In 2015, Jon Platt - a father from the Isle of Wight - had his £120 fine overturned in court after examining the wording of the Education Act to argue he had no case to answer.

The Government appealed the hearing, but lost in 2016, and said it would consider changing the law following its loss, as it felt taking children out of school during term time deprived them of education.

As reported in The Press last week, the number of fines issued by North Yorkshire County Council totalled 1,961 in three academic years.

The authority issued 651 in 2013/14, which increased by 42 per cent to 926 in 2014/15, then fell again by 58 per cent to 384 last year.

A spokesman for NYCC said the authority had altered their position on inappropriate absences following the Government's overturned appeal.

He said: "Following the High Court ruling on term-time absence earlier this year, the county council took the decision to suspend the issuing of penalty notices for unauthorised absence if a child’s school attendance is 90 per cent or above in the preceding six months, including any holiday."

The spokesman said the reduction in the number of penalties was common across the county and "largely the result of a change in the county council’s criteria".