1:00pm Thursday 1st October 2009
By Emily Walker, Chief Reporter
Every parent in Sussex will face being fined if their children bunk off school from next year.
West Sussex County Council will send out fixed penalty notices to the parents of primary school children who skip school without permission, starting in January.
The county council started issuing the notices and £50 fines to the parents of secondary school pupils last term.
Parents in the rest of Sussex already face fines if their children are repeatedly playing truant or taken on holiday during term time.
The £50 fines are doubled to £100 if they are not paid within 28 days.
Parents who fail to pay after 42 days can be taken to court.
East Sussex County Council has been issuing the fines since the 2006-2007 school year. Last academic year 163 fixed penalty notices were issued.
Brighton and Hove City Council said it has had the power to issue fixed penalty notices since February 2004.
In most circumstances, parents are sent a warning letter before being fined.
But if parents take their children on holiday during term-time they will get an automatic £50 fine without a warning, rising to £100 if they do not pay within 28 days, and have no right to appeal.
Councils have the power to fine parent under changes made to the Antisocial Behaviour Act in 2002 amid fears truancy can leave pupils vulnerable to antisocial behaviour, crime and teenage pregnancy.
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