The Government might be making grand claims about cutting down on truancy, but it seems parents are still going ahead and taking their kids out of school to get a cheap holiday. A recent Mori survey found that four out of ten parents who take their children out of school for a holiday say they don’t believe it will have an impact on their education. And when the Prime Minister sets the example by keeping his kids off lessons for four days so they could holiday in the Seychelles, who can blame parents? To add insult to injury, the first set of Fast Track truancy prosecutions in Thurrock went pear-shaped: many of the parents failed to turn up so all the cases were adjourned.