Essex imposed more fines on parents for taking their children out of school than anywhere else in the country. A record 12,017 penalties were issued by the county council in 2022/23, up from 1,218 in 2020/21 and 6,828 imposed in 2021/22. It is significantly up from the pre-Covid levels seen in 2018/19 when the education authority imposed 9,609 fines for taking children on holiday in term-time without permission. Altogether there were 12,953 fines in total covering all types of breaches – equivalent to a rate of with a rate 6.6 fines per per 100 enrolments. That compares to Doncaster Council wh…