Hartlepool Borough Council Issues 1,861 School Attendance Fines in a Single Year........

The number represents a sharp increase in fines being dished out to parents, with Hartlepool Borough Council clocking up £108,720 in revenue from fines being handed out, sparking questions about whether the issuing of fines is merely a council money maker ?

21st October 2025

A Freedom of Information request submitted to Hartlepool Borough Council has revealed 1,861 school attendance fines have been issued during the 2024/2025 academic year, generating a staggering £108,720 in revenue for the local borough council which in 2023, was declared an authority with no public confidence.

The figures represent a sharp increase of 1,633 fines compared to the previous academic year (2023/2024), suggesting that Hartlepool Council has dramatically stepped up its use of penalty notices against parents over school attendance.

Data withheld on SEND pupils and prosecutions

Despite the detailed request from resident from a member of the public, Hartlepool Borough Council admitted that it does not collect information about how many of these fines were issued to parents of children on the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) register.

Shockingly, the council also said it does not collect data on:

• How many prosecutions were brought against parents for school attendance in 2024/2025

• How many of those prosecutions involved children with SEND

• How much money was generated from such prosecutions

  
  

Hartlepool Borough Council further stated that “funds from all prosecutions go into one place” — meaning the income from these legal actions is not separately accounted for or transparently reported raising questions in itself as to where the funds collected from fines is actually being spent..

Concerns over accountability

The revelation that Hartlepool Council issued nearly two thousand fines in just one academic year — while failing to monitor the impact on families with children who have additional needs is said to be raising serious concern about the fairness and oversight of its attendance enforcement policies.

Campaigners have long argued that blanket fines often fail to consider the individual circumstances of families, particularly those struggling with medical or special educational needs.

The lack of data collection also means there is no public accountability for whether the council’s approach disproportionately affects vulnerable families — an issue that has been widely criticised by SEND advocates across the country.

Yet another growing cash stream for councils?

In the wake of the revelation by the Teesside & Durham Post that Hartlepool Borough Council has been found to be profiting from Council Tax Court Costs being dished out to already struggling households, the £108,720 raised through attendance fines will inevitably raise questions about whether such penalties are being used as a financial deterrent or a revenue stream for a supposedly 'cash strapped' local council. .

With councils across the North East supposedly under increasing financial pressure, yet managing to keep their senior officials cushioned with significant pay & pension increases, parents are likely to see these figures as fresh evidence that local councils are turning to fines as a quick way to generate some easy cash — rather than addressing any of the root causes of absenteeism.