Term-time holiday debate heads to Parliament

Central
Monday 24 February 2014 at 12:23pm

Many parents feel angry at the the high costs of trips during school holidays Credit: PA

When Birmingham Yardley MP John Hemming opens a parliamentary debate this afternoon on the cost of holidays, he'll be touching on one of the big bugbears among parents.

The holiday companies have long been accused of "cashing in" on the school holidays and penalising those who ensure their children attend school when they should.

So why has the debate really taken off now, when it's been around for so long? The game-changer came last September, when new legislation meant head teachers could no longer authorise term-term holidays unless the circumstances were exceptional - previously they'd been able to allow pupils ten days absence in the academic year.

It means parents who take their children out of lessons for a holiday now do so without the school's permission and run the risk of being fined. One Shropshire couple, Stewart and Natasha Sutherland, hit the headlines last month when they were ordered to pay £1000 for taking their family to the Greek island of Rhodes during term time.

New research out today shows nearly half of parents would be prepared to run that risk - a finding reflected in the mothers and fathers I spoke to this morning dropping their children off at Carlton Central Infant and Junior School in Nottinghamshire. Every one felt the hiking up of prices in the school holidays was unfair, and many felt they would be justified in going away during term time.

The travel operators stick to their well-rehearsed argument. As any Economics student knows all too well, it's a simple case of supply and demand - when demand is high, prices go up. No-one complains about paying more for Christmas decorations in December than in February, but it's all the same principle.

What is harder to assess though is whether the price rises in the summer are higher than they need to be. Some believe the Government could cut travel taxes like the Air Passenger Duty to make holidays more affordable in peak times, and that's just what John Hemming will be calling for when he gets to his feet later.