The whopping total of fines in Bromley for unauthorised school absences
The News Shopper submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Bromley Council to find out how much the local authority had made from unauthorised absence fines since the 2021-22 academic year.
The FOI gave information as far as July 2025 and revealed that £41,160 was accumulated by the council since September 2024.
In the 2021-22 academic year, which was the first full school year after pandemic restrictions eased, the council collected £16,500 in fines.
This amount more than doubled the following year, with £33,300 raised in 2022-23.
The total fine income increased again in 2023-24 to £36,960.
The most recent academic year saw more than £41,160 collected in fines, surpassing the previous records.
Looking at the figures by school term shows that the summer term usually brings in the most money from fines and has the highest number of fines issued.
For example, in 2021-22, Bromley Council collected £11,640 in summer fines, which was more than two-thirds of the total that year, with 278 fines given out.
This went up to £17,640 and 409 fines in 2022-23 and dropped slightly to £16,860 and 422 fines in 2023-24.
This pattern probably happens because many families take children out of school for holidays during term time, especially in the summer when travel is often cheaper.
But in the current 2024-25 year, the spring term has already brought in £22,620 in fines and 375 fines issued.
This is more than any previous spring term and almost twice the summer term total of £10,560 and 251 fines so far this year.
Overall, the total number of fines has grown a lot.
There were 376 fines in 2021-22, then 773 in 2022-23, and 914 in 2023-24.
So far this year, 821 fines have been issued, showing the council is taking attendance more seriously.
School absence fines are typically issued when children have unauthorised absences from school, such as holidays during term time or unexplained absences.
The money collected from school absence fines goes into Bromley Council's general fund, contributing to the local authority's overall budget.
There is no specific requirement for how the funds are spent, so they may be used to support a range of council services, including education and attendance initiatives.
Under current government rules, parents can be fined £80 per child if their child has 10 sessions (equivalent to five school days) of unauthorised absence within a 10-school-week period.
This fine must be paid within 21 days to avoid increasing.
If it is not paid within 28 days, the fine rises to £160.
If a parent receives a second penalty notice for the same child within three years, the fine remains £160 with no early payment discount.
Failure to pay penalty notices or continued unauthorised absences can lead to prosecution.
This can result in a fine of up to £2,500 per parent per child, a community order, or a prison sentence of up to three months.
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