More parents hit by spot fines for condoning truancy The Coalition has now told schools to crackdown on truancy by classifying more pupils as "persistent absentees" and refusing to sanction so many term time holidays. It has also ordered Charlie Taylor, the Government's leading expert on behaviour, to carry out a review of attendance in schools to further cut the absence rate. According to figures, the equivalent of 62,000 children in English state schools skipped school without a decent excuse last year. Statistics show 1.1 per cent of lesson time was lost because of truancy compared with one per cent in 2009/10. It also emerged that a "hard core" of 400,000 pupils were "persistently absent" last year after missing at least a month of schooling. Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, said: "We should not underestimate the impact of this on their future prospects. The effect that poor attendance at school can have on a child's education can be permanent and damaging. Children who attend school regularly are four times more likely to achieve five or more good GCSEs, including English and maths, than those who are persistently absent. Under existing legislation, parents can be handed £50 fines - rising to £100 if they are not paid within 28 days - for allowing children to skip school without permission. According to figures, 32,641 penalty notices were handed out by schools and local authorities in 2010/11, up from 25,657 the previous year. It represents a rise of 27 per cent. Of those, 1,515 subjected to the higher £100 fine for late payment and 7,902 went unpaid. Some 5,629 parents were prosecuted for non-payment. The statistics came on the same day that a review into last summer's riots cited poor parenting, a sense of hopelessness among young people, no clear path to work, reoffending and a lack of confidence in the police as key reasons behind the violence. The report, by an independent panel, found up to 15,000 people, most aged under 24, actively took part in the riots, with "countless more bystanders observing."