Website aims to cut down on holiday truancy

The Government has unveiled its latest weapon in the battle to cut truancy - a website offering details of cheap family breaks during the school holidays.

Ministers have been alarmed at figures which show that one in six absences from school can be put down to parents taking children on holidays during term time because they are cheaper.

As a result, the Government has reached agreement with the travel industry to publicise any discounts that are on offer during the school holidays.

The first batch of holidays put on the website yesterday included cut-price flights with BA to Florida next summer - with families able to save up to £100 per adult on the cost of a flight, with a free place for one child.

The campaign also won the support of the Confederation of British Industry, whose director general Sir Digby Jones urged employers to consider requests for time off during the school holidays sympathetically.

The website address is www.parentscentre.gov.uk/everylessoncounts