Late on Friday afternoon the Isle of Wight council announced they would be appealing to the High Court in the case of Jon Platt’s unpaid school absence fines.
Magistrates had said that Jon had no case to answer after the Isle of Wight took him to court for an unpaid fine of £60 (which rose to £120) after he took his six year old daughter out of school for a week for a family holiday in Florida.
Good attendance
Jon Platt’s defence argued that because his daughter had attendance of over 90%, he should not have received a fine for removing her from school for a family holiday. The Magistrates agreed and said he had no case to answer.
News of the case went national, with Jon appearing on several national TV programmes including Sky News, Good Morning, BBC South Today and BBC Breakfast.
Council to appeal
There was considerable aghast from Islanders on hearing the news, with many asking how the cash-strapped council could afford to take this case to the High Court.
As you might expect, we asked the council what they estimated the cost would be.
Today (Monday) the council has confirmed they expect the action to cost around £10,000. The money would be taken from their reserves.
A statement from the council received this afternoon read,
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson confirmed that the appeal to the High Court is solely on the interpretation of the law on school attendance, so that the council, schools and parents can have clarity about the law and how it impacts on decisions about attendance.
It is estimated the appeal would cost no more than £10,000, with funds provided from the council’s reserves.
No interference from Government
Given the national coverage and implications on education authorities around the country, it had been suggested by some that perhaps pressure had been put on the council by the Government to take the action.
However, the Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said,
“The council has neither contacted nor been contacted by central government in relation to this matter.”
Platt: “In everyone’s interest”
Jon Platt, who, on principal, spent £1,000 fighting the £120 fine, told OnTheWight on Friday afternoon (when we broke the news to him),
“It probably is in everyone’s interest for this matter to be clarified beyond any doubt.”
Jon had not been informed of the intended legal action by the council when they issued their press release on Friday afternoon, but papers were hand-delivered to him over the weekend.
Image: Kevin Dooley under CC BY 2.0
