THE dramatic increase in the number of parents fined for taking children on holiday in term time tells us nothing.

What we can be sure of, though, is that local authorities throughout the country, our own included, risk alienating large sections of the population unless they proceed with wisdom and caution.

The purpose of issuing councils with the power to fine was to help them clamp down on chronic absences.

This is a worthy aim, as such absences blight the educations of the young people in question and hamper their chances of success in later life.

Fining parents over the annual week or two away is another matter entirely, especially if they are financially unable to weather the disgraceful price-gouging indulged in by much of the holiday industry once schools close for the summer.

Many such parents are otherwise diligent in ensuring their children attend school and complete homework, and we have yet to see any peer-reviewed scientific study proving that such children’s educations suffer due to brief term time holidays.

There have even been cases in other parts of the country in which fines have been issued when children were taken away from school to attend family weddings, baptisms and funerals.

It is imperative that before any fine is issued, the relevant authorities use common sense. Otherwise they risk being perceived as bullying, chiselling jobsworths rather than responsible educators.