A TRUANCY officer turned MP has slammed government plans to hand out on-the-spot fines to parents caught with a child playing truant.

Hyndburn Labour MP Greg Pope branded the move as laws "written on the back of a fag packet" and warned ministers that much more work was needed if the proposals were to work.

And his doubts have been echoed by his Burnley Labour colleague Peter Pike and Ribble Valley Tory Nigel Evans.

A government consultation paper published yesterday proposes fixed penalty notices, like those for speeding, charging between £25 and £100 if the children are out of their school classes without permission.

The fines could be imposed by head teachers, police or council truancy officers but would be collected in general by the schools the children attend

The plans, for England and Wales, are meant as an instant reinforcement for existing laws which can mean parents being jailed for three months.

The government estimates about 50,000 children truant every day and those picked up on "truancy sweeps" are often with their parents.

In a truancy sweep early last year, 83 out of 94 youngsters stopped in Blackburn and Darwen were with an adult.

Last December, the majority of the 30 children stopped in Pendle and 32 out of 55 approached in Burnley with with a grown-up.

At the moment, parents can be prosecuted by the local authority if they fail to make sure their children get to school.

They can face fines of £2,500 each or three months in jail. The government wants the fixed penalties to work as a quick "sharp reminder" to parents of their responsibilities.

Mr Pope, who worked as an education welfare officer with Lancashire County Council before becoming an MP, said: "I have my doubts about this idea.

"We all agree that something needs to be done about truancy but I'm not sure it's this.

"It's got all the hallmarks of having been written on the back of a fag packet. It's not been properly thought out.

"I'm particularly concerned that the current proposals suggest that the fines should be collected by the school which would cause problems with the very parents the teachers are trying to get to send their children to class.

"Then many of the parents might not have the money to pay or be the type of people who don't pay speeding tickets anyway.

"We know that children who persistently skip school suffer and are more likely to be involved in crime, but this idea will need a lot of work if it is to be feasible.''

Mr Pike said: "We have to find some way of tackling truancy, but I can see problems here.

"It is not a good idea for the schools to collect the fines. That should be some other agency."

Mr Evans said: "The majority of the parents who will be hit will have low incomes and won't have the money for these fines. And there will be a hard core who simply won't pay."

Opinion: Page 10