Could new Education Secretary end ‘Parent Trap’?

Education Secretary Michael Gove’s replacement Nicky Morgan has been urged to speak with the travel industry and Minister for Sport, Tourism & Equalities Helen Grant to resolve the school holiday fine dispute.

Morgan was announced as the new Education Secretary earlier this month in David Cameron’s reshuffle, with renewed hope for talks regarding the fine policy put in place last September, as well as the best way to lighten peak prices.

Louise Hodges, head of communications at Travelzoo said: “Travelzoo welcomes the news that David Cameron has appointed Nicky Morgan as the new Education Secretary – we very much hope that this change will mark the beginning of a more joined-up approach where the Education Secretary and the Sport, Tourism and Equalities Minister Helen Grant consult with the travel industry on critical issues such as the fines for parents taking their children on holiday during term time and the current proposals to stagger school holidays. Under Michael Gove’s leadership the link between education policy and tourism was not adequately addressed.

“Our aim is to fight the Parent Trap – the toxic combination of these new fines, the highest flight tax in the world and the peak pricing families face when travelling during school holidays. We believe that the government should review the fining policy that is causing mass discontent amongst parents up and down the country.”

Hodges also hopes talks could look further into the impact of staggered holidays or ways to help make holidays cheaper during peak times including the suggestion of reducing Air Passenger Duty (APD) in the school summer holidays.

Hodges explained: “We are also asking for a discussion between government and the travel industry on the best way to alleviate peak pricing – we believe that the current proposal to stagger school holidays in order to bring down the cost of travel is flawed. Gove’s Deregulation Bill proposes that staggering be implemented on a school-by-school basis, with each school having the right to choose their term dates. After talking to the many travel companies and hoteliers we work with, we are genuinely concerned that this method of staggering will not significantly drive down prices. It is possible that the main impact this approach will have is to simply create a chaotic situation where schools in the same town or region go on holiday at different times; an organisational nightmare for working parents with children in different schools who already struggle to cover childcare over the school holiday periods.”