Punishing Without Proof - What We Found When We Investigated School Attendance Fines in Torbay

At Punk Against Poverty we believe in something very simple:

Education should be one of the most powerful routes out of poverty.

For children growing up in hardship, school should be a place of opportunity, safety, support, and hope. It should be where barriers are removed, not where families are punished for struggling to survive.

We work everyday with families who are facing poverty, disability, housing insecurity, trauma and mental health challenges. We see first hand how fragile childrens relationships with school already are, and how often non attendance is not caused by "bad parenting" but by unmet needs, broken systems, and a lack of support.

When families are fined or prosecuted because their children cannot attend school, the question should never just be "how do we enforce attendance?", it should be "Why is this child unable to attend and what support is missing?'

If education is truly meant to be a route out of poverty, then policies that punish families without fixing the underlying problems risk doing the opposite: they entrench poverty, deepen crisis, and push vulnerable families away from the help they need.

This is why we have been becoming increasingly concerned about the use of school attendance fines and prosecutions.

Looking at our local area of Torbay, we wanted to address a simple question: Is this system fair, proportionate and evidence based?"

To find out we submitted three Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. Two went to Torbay Council, and one to the Ministry of Justice.

What we found is deeply worrying.

What Torbay Councils Data Showed Us

For the 2024/2025 academic year in Torbay:

• 976 school fines were issues

These fines generated £57,920 for the council

• 160 fines were issued to parents of children on the SEND register

• 136 families were prosecuted for non attendance

Each fine, as set by the government, is:

£80 per parent per child if paid within 21 days

£160 per parent per child if paid later

Torbay Council told us:

• 73% of fines were paid in full

• 19% were not paid or went to prosecution

Their response to our FOI left 8% of data unanswered for, and it took the help of our local councillor, Cllr George Darling asking questions on our behalf to find out what the remaining 8% accounted for. Torbay Council told him "The 8% is the number that were withdrawn after families either responded to the penalty notice with evidence of need, or where families responded by engaging with schools and/or support. In these cases continuing the process did not seem the best way to resolve low attendance"

They Do Not Track the Most Important Things

Torbay Council does not record:

• How many prosecuted parents are found guilty

• How many are found not guilty

• How many cases are withdrawn or dismissed

• How many are adjourned

• What penalties courts actually impose

• How many prosecutions involve SEND children

• How many involve low income or Pupil Premium families

• How much the prosecutions actually cost the council / taxpayer

• How much staff time is spent on prosecutions

• Any breakdowns of case types or outcomes

They also confirmed:

They do not carry out any Equality Impact Assessments on this policy.

This is deeply concerning.

We Asked the Ministry of Justice for the Court Outcomes

Since the council couldn't tell us what happens in court, we asked the Ministry of Justice:

• How many cases ended in guilty or not guilty verdicts

• How many were withdrawn or dismissed

• What penalties were imposed

• What the financial outcomes were

Their response?

The Ministry of Justice does not hold this data in a usable way and cannot provide it under FOI.

So right now no public body can tell you what actually happens to these families in court.

This Means We Have No Idea if These Prosecutions Are Justified

Without outcome data, its impossible to know:

• How many families were wrongly prosecuted

• How many cases should never have gone to court

• Whether courts are regularly rejecting these cases

• Whether disabled families are being disproportionately targeted

• Whether this policy is fair, effective, or lawful in practice.

This is punishment without accountability.

SEND Families Are Being Hit- But No One is Measuring the Impact

Torbay Council admits:

• 160 fines were issued to families with children on the SEND register, resulting in a higher percentage of SEND families receiving fines than non SEND families

• They do not track SEND status in prosecutions

• They do not assess disproportionate impact

• They do not run Equality Impact Assessments

This is deeply worrying given:

• Many SEND children are out of school due to anxiety, trauma, unmet needs, or school refusal

• Many families are already in crisis

• Many are potentially being punished for system failures, not parental neglect

No Cost Controls or Transparency

The council also admits:

• Prosecution administration costs are hidden in a block budget

• Staff time is not recorded

• Case costs are not tracked

• There is no way to know if the implementation of this government policy even makes financial sense

This is public money being spent with no scrutiny and no outcome tracking.

Political Pressure - But Little Answers

Thanks to:

• MP Steve Darling

• MP Caroline Voaden

• Cllr George Darling

who have all raised formal questions on our behalf about:

• Attendance fines

• Prosecutions

• The lack of Equality Impact Assessments

So far, no meaningful answers have been provided.

Why This Matters

This is not about a few bad parents.

This is about:

• A government policy and the local implementation of it

• Disabled children

• Families in poverty

• Parents being criminalised for systemic failures

• A council that cannot even tell you what happens after it drags families to court

A justice system that does not measure outcome is not Justice.

A policy that does not measure harm is not safeguarding.

The Questions That Must Be Answered

Torbay Council must explain:

• How many parents taken to court are actually found guilty?

• How many cases collapse?

• How many involve SEND children?

• Why no Equality Impact Assessment exists?

• Whether their implementation of this government policy is lawful, proportionate or effective

What Punk Against Poverty Will Keep Doing

We will:

• Keep pushing for transparency

• Keep supporting families being punished unfairly

• Keep demanding evidence based, humane policy both locally and nationally

• Keep exposing systems that criminalise poverty and disability

Because families deserve support - not prosecution.