Call for government action over increased holiday prices during school holidays

[CatherineHMumsnet]

Following the story today on how a father's Facebook rant about how travel companies increase holiday prices during the school holidays encouraged 143,000 people to sign a petition calling for government action, we were wondering what Mumsnetters' opinions were on the subject.

Are you sick of being forced to pay dramatically higher prices to take a holiday when schools are out? Or do you see it, as ABTA do, as a straightforward issue of supply and demand?

[uptheworkers444]

I haven't got kids but every August face the same frustrations of paying exorbitant holiday increases (price surging)
I even discovered this today trying to book my dog into the kennels a 10% price surge.....WTF !!!!
I know....How about I start charging punters a 10% price surge in my london black cab when it's raining ?
It's immoral , extortion and WRONG
Grow a pair people....and start making waves 👍🚖

[Jaysfourth]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/petitions_noticeboard/2496577-Create-a-Holiday-Council-for-families-teachers-anyone-in-the-school-holidays

Come on over and sign this petition !!!

[halfdrunkcoffee]

I think it's supply and demand. The only thing I can think of would be to stagger the school holidays, as they do in France where the country is divided into Zones A, B and C. Each zone has different holiday dates. The summer holiday could also be made longer - I think our summer hols must be the shortest in Europe - although I realise this might be difficult for many parents.

[jpm129]

Hi new here, but you can't really legislate against it but you can save some money. Inset days were the difference between our holiday and no holiday. Info on them here www.aph.com/community/holidays/beat-school-holiday-price-rises/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=beat-school-holiday-price-rises

[writtenguarantee]

It also doesn't help that the government doesn't make it at all sensible. They could, for example, do like the french and stagger the holidays. That would probably help a lot (have three or fours zones over the country so that 15 million people aren't trying to get into the science museum on the same week).

But, more fundamentally, I am actually surprised at how many people think fining parents for taking their children on a holiday is ok. Really? It's accepting a shocking amount of authority over your children.

[writtenguarantee]

Holiday companies are obviously the wrong target here. It´s the governments idiotic rules that should be the target. That´s what a petition should target.

@Calamitous: Yes it´s difficult and inconvenient to have children. That doesn´t mean the govt should be allowed to make it harder.

@Chocolate: Should we be selective about which laws we follow? I think what's happened is that so many laws are totally ridiculous now that I think it happens all the time. of course, as thinking people we should be selective about it and make good decisions. Don't murder someone, but taking YOUR OWN CHILD for a holiday shouldn't be a crime.

[Solopower1]

IIRC this was brought in because people with overseas connections were taking their kids out of school for 6 weeks or a couple of months during term time, so they could visit their relatives.

And I think it helps the govt keep tabs on who travels to certain immigration/terrorism hotspots. It might also be a child protection issue.

In the Uni where I work, we have to ask our adult students for personal details about their absences for the same reasons. Govt wants to know if anyone here on a student visa is not actually attending class. Some of us don't like acting like immigration officers, but we have to.

[flatpackhamster]

magoria

I think this is a little like the men who went to the courts over their car insurance being higher than women's and that it was discrimination.

Did they get cheaper insurance? Nope.

Everyone else's went up instead.

What happened was there was an exemption for insurance companies from the EU's 2004 gender directive. Under this exemption insurance companies were allowed to charge more for male drivers if they could prove that male drivers were a statistically higher risk.

The exemption was scrapped in 2012. So women pay the same as men, despite the statistics showing they are a lower risk, thanks to Equality legislation.

[DonnaDishwater]

This is the most stupid thing I have ever heard! Nobody is "forced" to pay higher prices for holidays during school holidays! They choose to do so of their own volition! It's absolute economic ignorance to think that more people will be able to go on holiday in the school holidays were prices to be artificially fixed. Do you think holiday companies aim to have empty accomodation during these times?

[magoria]

I think this is a little like the men who went to the courts over their car insurance being higher than women's and that it was discrimination.

Did they get cheaper insurance? Nope.

Everyone else's went up instead.

People without children who can afford holidays would (I guess) have more disposable cash to pay more out of term time. Or less people will go on holidays and the costs will have to be made up by pushing up the others to cover the costs.

Will the costs come down?

Not a chance.

[lljkk]

I don't think Gove has come up with a single education idea that I like. Not one. Is that some kind of achievement?

[mummymeister]

numpty wake up you are dreaming! he'll do it for a day in a carefully selected school with all the disruptives on a school trip and show us all how incredibly easy it is. just because he wants his kids locked up for 10+ hours a day we all have to suffer. the man is bonkers. he is eroding our liberties and whilst everyone is looking at the little picture he is working on the canvas. damnautocorrect - forces families are exempt they can take their kids out during term time.

[NumptyNameChange]

me too damn - i want them to change the title to 'force michael gove to work in a state secondary for a week with a 24hr camera crew recording how he fares'.

[NumptyNameChange]

OR wait for the days where your child is being bullied relentlessly and developing massive issues and nothing is being done about it but if you keep them off school for the day because they're virtually having a panic attack and you get sent a fine.

do you want our schools to be educators or state police? and bear in mind how many you will lose from the teaching profession the more you turn their jobs into policing and detainment instead of teaching and nurturing and be ready to welcome in those ex military instructors to drill your kids into discipline.

[Damnautocorrect]

I am agreeing with you on time off, I just don't agree with the statement
'Holidays should be cheaper sign the petition'

[NumptyNameChange]

or until your child gets an 'invisible' illness that secretly the head doesn't believe in and they won't take your word for it that your child was ill or needs to be out of school a few days. or they decide that you have to get a sicknote for children off school and the gps decide they will cost you £30 to administrate even if you can get an appointment in the time scale. or they remove the right to withdraw your children from anything at all within school because it's not up to you and they start teaching/doing somethign that you totally don't agree with but tough shit. or till they say children have to be in school from 8am to 6pm 48weeks a year.

i do not understand how people can be so short sighted and naive about these things and look at them as if they were removed from the politcal agenda and direction and wider economic and social management issues. context ffs.

[Damnautocorrect]

I do agree its about spending time and parents should have the responsibility to pull them out of school when necessary.
But that assumes common sense prevails. It is the few that have ruined it for the majority. The holiday as a right argument falls flat on its face for cost, because a parent is in the forces / can only take term time off etc etc. That should be allowed

[mummymeister]

holidays are not a necessity, time off and spent with your kids is otherwise why bother to have them. this isn't about holidays. its about being allowed to take full responsibility for your kids and decide where they should be and when. I have said it so many times on so many different threads, wait until it is you. wait until you need a day off to attend that wedding, family event or funeral. or your jobs change. or your life changes. or gove brings in the next ridiculous thing like 10 hr days. we are their parents, we are responsible for them and we are doing what we know is best for them.

[Damnautocorrect]

Holidays are not a necessity. What happened to cutting your cloth accordingly?

[KayleeFrye]

absolutely mummymeister it's ridiculous.

[mummymeister]

No doctrine that is not Michael Goves argument. it might be what some teachers say but that is not his view. what is disruptive to children particularly teenagers is every day reading that this exam has been changed or that grading is going to be different or that course work no longer counts or that you might have to have a 10 hour day. there is no calm or continuity in education. have to have the baccalaureate, no maybe you don't. must do a foreign language. or not. cant include RE with history and geography in the baccalaureate but RE is really important and must be taught. sell off playing fields but we have an obesity crisis. keep kids on at school until they are 18 even though some don't want to be there and will be incredibly disruptive. I could go on.

[TheDoctrineOfSnatch]

The argument is also that it is disruptive to other children in the class so there is an element of harm.

[mummymeister]

chocolate - I believe it education, absolutely. not sending your children to school on a regular basis, not making them do their homework or revision for exams harms them. no argument with that at all. this law does absolutely nothing at all to address the issue of not sending your children to school regularly. LEA's previously had powers to deal with this. they did not. we all know of families constantly late to school on a daily basis. we had a girl in my DD's class who missed one day a week because she was ill. in fact her DM had mental health issues and wanted her to stay at home as company. is she still doing it? yes she is. is there any point fining her mother? no she cant pay. will they put her in jail for it? no. will this law sort this problem out? not to date it hasn't. This law was bought in to deal with a non issue. the 10 days off may have been seen as a right but not where we live it wasn't. people understand limits. 30mph good 32 mph bad. this is a manufactured crisis. this is about dishonesty in politics and bending the truth. you might not be affected by this gove rule but wait a couple of months and one will come along that does affect you.

[ChocolateWombat]

Yes Numpty, in some ways it isn't the same. It depends though what you mean by things being dangerous or harmful. Many people believe it is harmful not to go to school. It certainly is harmful to continually not go and the new law is intended to remove the ambiguity and wrong messages sent by the old one. People do not cope well with ambiguity. They decide that 10 days discretionary leave means they are entitled to at least that. In some areas it becomes the norm to take it. People start wondering why it can't be more and feel entitled to that too. If they are followed up because they had 14 days off, they feel aggrieved that other people 'got away' with 10. I think therefore the government are going for simplicity.
Ultimately, on things like education, I think parents don't always know best. You might, in your circumstances, but too many people don't.

If you think this a wrong ruling, like the poll tax, for example, you can protest and break the law by taking your children out of school and refusing to pay fines etc. That is your right. It is more tricky tahn protesting about the poll tax though because our children are involved in doing that. We have to use them to make the point.....and that feels uncomfortable to most people. And I think it feels uncomfortable to those who are generally supporters of education too, because they know children should be in school, as well as being law abiding types.
And whilst you might not like my examples, the principle of whether we feel under the law and subject to it, or free to pick and choose, is one of the bigger questions which arise from this whole topic.