Member

In relation to the rewards and penalties implied in the noble Lord’s amendment, we do not accept the implication that higher numbers of issued school attendance orders are an automatic indicator of poor performance. Local authorities must issue school attendance orders if a child is not in receipt of suitable education and it is expedient that the child attends school. In some local authority areas, there simply may be more children in need of intervention. The noble Lord’s suggested formula might dissuade them from fulfilling their existing legal duty to issue school attendance orders in those circumstances.