MOST governments, and the present one is certainly no exception, are frequently accused of dreaming up 'policy initiatives' that might make good instant soundbites but later turn out to be far from practical.

And when their own backbenchers criticise such plans it is sensible to conclude that they are likely to be non-starters in terms of effectiveness.

As a former education welfare officer, Hyndburn MP Greg Pope has professional knowledge of the problem of finding children who are playing truant and getting them back into the classroom.

With an estimated 50,000 children playing truant each day, no one is disputing that the problem is a massive one.

A government consultation paper published yesterday provides for fixed penalty notices for between £25 and £100 a time - like those levied on speeding motorists - to be imposed on parents caught with a child who should be at school.

The idea is that the penalties could be imposed by police, head teachers or truancy officers as a "sharp reminder".

Mr Pope thinks the plan has "all the hallmarks of having been written on the back of a fag packet".

He points out, for example, that schools will be expected to collect fines from the very parents who they are also trying to persuade to send their children to school.

He is right. The fines haven't been thought through and should not be implemented until they have.