Supreme Court to hear term-time holiday case
The Supreme Court has confirmed that a government-backed appeal against parents taking their children on holiday during term-time will begin on January 31.
The five judges have been appointed for the Isle of Wight Council v Jon Platt case. They are Justices Lord Neuberger, Lady Hale, Lord Mance, Lord Reed and Lord Hughes.
Isle of Wight council will argue that local resident Jon Platt should have paid a fine for taking his daughter out of school for a family holiday to Florida.
Fines for parents who take their children on term-time holidays without permission of their head teacher were introduced by the government to clamp down on student absences, but must be imposed by local councils.
Platt successfully argued in Magistrates’ Court that the Isle of Wight council had misinterpreted the law and that he should not have been fined because his daughter had a good attendance record.
The decision was upheld by the High Court, but the Isle of Wight council has taken the case to the Supreme Court at the request of the Department for Education, which has said it will pick up the council’s legal bill.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
AirlineRatings reveals world's safest airline rankings for 2026
Vietnam warns airlines of possible flight reductions amid jet fuel shortages
Fliggy opens AI-powered travel bookings and developer tools