Mr Phil Willis (Harrogate & Knaresborough, Liberal Democrat)

This is another example of targets being introduced and we do not quite know what will be done if schools fail to meet them. Attendance is a problem in many schools. One issue is absence for holidays, which has now become a real scourge for many schools. A significant number of youngsters take their statutory two weeks as part and parcel of their overall provision. That has a significant effect on attendance.

My main worry, however, concerns schools in the poorer areas of Britain. One of the Government's objectives, quite rightly, is social inclusion and tackling social deprivation. You will know, Mr. Pike, from your constituency—if I keep referring to it, you will feel at home—that there is proven evidence of the link between social deprivation, poor housing and ill health. Ill health is a major cause of absence from schools in some of those areas. There is also increased family ill health.

I have spent most of my time working in such areas and some hon. Members do not understand the huge pressure that is sometimes put on adolescents who are often full-time carers. We do not make enough allowances for those different groups of youngsters who are off school, often unauthorised, but for genuine reasons. Can the Minister ensure that his Department commissions some research into school attendance and looks at ways of supporting youngsters in areas where attendance is poor to attend school or provide them with alternative means of education.

Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight, Conservative)

I welcome the clause. Once again the Government are following in my footsteps. I will give hon. Members the evidence for that. Pupils cannot be taught if they are not in school. That is perhaps the most obvious statement that one can make but it is one that the previous Administration did not seem to understand. They did not seem to understand that the first condition of getting a child taught is for him to be sitting in a class in front of a teacher.

When the London borough of Southwark was found to be failing and I was pleased to help advise it on how to privatise the management of that education authority—

Mr Ivan Lewis (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Education and Skills; Bury South, Labour)

As a shareholder?

Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight, Conservative)

Yes, as a shareholder in a company. I have mentioned that before. The officials from the Department for Education and Employment—as it then was—who told Southwark that targets were needed, were very concerned that it stuck to the targets for unauthorised absence. However, I and other members of staff of the education department at John Smith house—for that is where I worked at the time—[Interruption.] It was great fun. They understood that one cannot teach children unless they are in the classroom. Whether they are absent for good or bad reasons is irrelevant. We had some difficulty persuading officials that the private companies competing for the contract would accept such targets and difficulty persuading them that it was appropriate to go beyond the targets already required by the Government. We were successful in persuading three or four private companies to compete for the contract; the one that was successful accepted the contract and the targets to reduce all absence, not just unauthorised absence. In the end, the Department for Education and Employment was happy and gave considerable assistance to the council and to the private company to ensure that the contract bore fruit.

I am pleased that the Government are following in my footsteps and I am happy to support the proposal.

Mr Ivan Lewis (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for Education and Skills; Bury South, Labour)

One is always struck by the modesty of the hon. Member for Isle of Wight. I hate to think what John Smith might have been thinking.

The hon. Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough raised important issues. There is a often a direct relationship between the stresses and strains of living in difficult circumstances, whether they are due to family income, mental health problems or physical disability, and the hon. Gentleman is right to draw attention to the responsibilities of young children who care for sick or dependent parents. When considering school attendance, society does not give enough attention to the strain and pressure on young carers. Their contribution in caring for their relatives is not always conducive to their good health or to their best interests. We often talk in a negative way about young people, but those youngsters are fulfilling what they regard as their responsibility for someone they care for.

The hon. Gentleman may be reassured to know that the Government will report in September on the current in-depth research into the causes of truancy and absence. I will speak to the commissioning officials to ensure that special regard is paid to the role and responsibilities of young carers in that research. I hope that that will allay the hon. Gentleman's anxieties.

Clause 50 allows the Secretary of State to ask schools to consider the issue of authorised absences, which is as important and valid as that of unauthorised absences. As the hon. Gentleman said, a debate could be conducted on the subject of lengthy holidays during

school time; although they may be authorised, it does not make them right. Head teachers are sometimes under tremendous pressure to authorise such absences, even when they think that they are not in the interests of the class or the individual pupil.

The hon. Gentleman asked what the penalties would be for not meeting the targets. I reassure him that there will be no penalties as such but there will be a requirement, or expectation, that those schools will work closely with local education authorities to consider why they have difficulties in meeting their targets. They will be encouraged to ask questions about their procedures, to see whether they can improve their strategy on absence, and the processes that operate in the school. There will be no negative consequences for not meeting targets in that area, but if a school does not meet its targets that would identify issues that it should examine. We would expect the local education authority to support the school in considering and resolving such problems. On that note, I urge hon. Members to support the clause.

Question put and agreed to.

Clause 50 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 51 to 53 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Schedule 5 agreed to.