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Term-time holiday fines: a lottery where your postcode decides whether you actually pay
New Freedom of Information data reveals some councils collect barely a third of fines issued for school absences, while neighbours collect nearly every penny.
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New Holiday Extras Freedom of Information research exposes a postcode lottery in term-time holiday fine enforcement across England. Collection rates range from 39% in Blackpool to 100% in Rutland, while neighbouring councils such as Bradford (95%) and Leeds (54%) show stark differences despite sharing a border. With fines rising 30% since 2022/23 but savings on term-time flights potentially dwarfing the penalty, the research raises serious questions about whether the system is working as a deterrent.
A fine that depends on your postcode
Holiday Extras, the UK's market leader in airport extras, today revealed the scale of the postcode lottery facing parents who take children out of school during term time.
See the data and the complete research report here
Freedom of Information requests submitted to a sample of 30 local authorities across England expose a system in which the chance of a fine actually being collected depends almost entirely on where you live, raising serious questions about whether the regime is doing what it is supposed to do.
Among the 16 councils that provided comparable data, the proportion of fines actually collected ranges from 39% in Blackpool to 100% in Rutland. That is not a small gap. It means two families, each fined the same amount for the same reason, face a completely different financial reality depending on which side of a council boundary they live on.
Bradford vs Leeds: the sharpest contrast
The contrast is sharpest in West Yorkshire. Bradford and Leeds councils share a border. Both issued roughly half a million pounds in fines across the autumn 2024 and spring 2025 terms. Bradford collected 95% of it. Leeds collected 54%.
A Leeds parent issued a £160 fine has, statistically, a near coin-flip chance of ever being required to pay it. In some towns on the border between the two councils, for example Otley, Menston or Guiseley, two families sending their children to the same local school but living on different sides of the council border would find themselves in the absurd position of facing completely different risks for the same choice.
Councils with the biggest gap between fines issued and fines collected
September 2024 to March 2025
| Council | Region | Fines issued | Total issued | Total collected | % collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackpool | North West | 1,335 | £213,440 | £83,460 | 39% |
| Leeds | Yorkshire | 5,468 | £485,290 | £260,710 | 54% |
| Knowsley | North West | 1,301 | £104,080 | £56,000 | 54% |
| City of Bristol | South West | 2,309 | £247,040 | £136,160 | 55% |
| Kent | South East | 6,483 | £518,640 | £374,880 | 72% |
| Lancashire | North West | 7,701 | £621,840 | £513,520 | 83% |
| Shropshire | West Midlands | 898 | £68,110 | £56,540 | 83% |
| Islington | London | 304 | £24,320 | £20,640 | 83% |
| Herefordshire | South West | 405 | £29,940 | £25,560 | 85% |
| Cornwall | South West | 1,742 | £139,760 | £119,040 | 89% |
Councils with the highest collection rates
September 2024 to March 2025
| Council | Region | Fines issued | Total issued | Total collected | % collected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rutland | East Midlands | 50 | £3,720 | £3,720 | 100% |
| Wokingham | South East | 741 | £59,520 | £58,840 | 99% |
| Bradford | Yorkshire | 6,712 | £499,720 | £474,680 | 95% |
| Harrow | London | 1,673 | £128,860 | £120,820 | 94% |
| Surrey | South East | 2,996 | £236,040 | £218,186 | 92% |
The fine vs the flight
National data from the Department for Education shows that 93% of all penalty notices issued in 2024/25 were for term-time holidays. The number has risen by nearly 30% since 2022/23, and by nearly 300% since 2016/17. Fines are getting more common. But are they working as a deterrent?
The financial arithmetic tells an uncomfortable story. A family of four flying from Manchester to Tenerife can save up to £700 on flights alone by departing in early September rather than in August, according to Skyscanner data from June 2026. If both parents are fined, the maximum penalty (if paid promptly) is £160 per parent, £320 in total. In councils where collection rates run below 60%, the realistic expected cost of the fine is closer to half that. Against a potential saving of £700, it is understandable that parents facing the ongoing cost-of-living crisis are weighing up the pros and cons.
Where Holiday Extras examined the monthly breakdown provided by some councils, a clear seasonal pattern emerges. Penalty notices spike in September and January, the weeks immediately after the start of each term. Parents are not randomly pulling children out of school. They are taking deliberate, calculated decisions about when to travel, calibrated to both school calendars and flight prices.
What this means for families
Hugo Loudon, CFO at Holiday Extras, said:
"The data exposes something the system would rather not admit. For a growing number of families, the term-time fine has become a travel fee, not a deterrent. When the chance of actually paying it depends on your council, and the savings on flights can be double or triple the fine, it is inevitable that families are doing the maths.
"That is not an argument for ignoring children's education. It is an argument for asking whether a system applied so inconsistently is fair or useful. A fine that 40% of councils do not collect is not a fine, it is an optional charge that well-informed parents in the right postcodes know they are never likely to pay.
"The Department for Education needs to look at this honestly. Either the policy is worth enforcing uniformly, or it is worth rethinking. What is not acceptable is continuing with a patchwork system where your postcode determines your penalty."
See the data and the complete research report here
Notes to editors
Holiday Extras is the UK market leader in airport parking, airport hotels, worldwide airport lounges, destination car hire, airport transfers and holiday insurance. Established in 1983, Holiday Extras helps more than 11 million travellers have a better holiday every year. When booking with Holiday Extras, if plans change, no matter what the reason, Flextras ensures it will always be easy and free to cancel the booking and reschedule for another date. The company has been listed eleven times in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Methodology: Holiday Extras submitted Freedom of Information requests to 30 local authorities across England, selected to reflect a range of absence rates (the top 10 and bottom 10 by unauthorised absence percentage in 2024/25, plus 10 major cities). Councils were asked to provide the total number of penalty notices issued for term-time absences, the total value of fines issued, and the total value of fines collected, for the autumn term 2024 and spring term 2025. 16 councils provided usable comparative data. Some councils cited Section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act; others directed Holiday Extras to published government statistics rather than providing council-level collection data. National absence and penalty notice figures are drawn from the Department for Education's Parental Responsibility Measures statistical release (2024/25). Flight price data is from Skyscanner (June 2026). Collection rate percentages are calculated from figures provided by councils and may include fines issued but subsequently rescinded.
For more information, contact the Holiday Extras PR team at Gold79: [email protected]
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