Costa packet...

ELAINE Brown has no idea where her family is going for a much-needed holiday this year. Spend it by the paddling pool, probably. Why? Because they can't afford the high prices charged by travel firms during the school holidays.

As our quick survey of holiday prices shows (see panel below), the same holiday can cost almost twice as much if you take it in August as if you take it in early May, before school breaks up.

Inevitably, many parents are choosing to take their children out of school during term-time rather than pay the sky-high costs of a summer holiday abroad.

The result? Their children are missing out on schooling.

One York mum, who did not want to be named, blames the travel companies. She says she took her five-year-old daughter out of school for five days so the family could have a short break in January, and then again for four days over the half term.

She made sure she got the school's permission, but that is not the point. Parents shouldn't be put in the position of making their children miss schooling just so the family can enjoy a holiday together, she says. It isn't just the summer holidays that are more expensive: it is other school holidays and even half terms as well. "They are just taking advantage!" she said.

In the past York-based graphic designer Elaine and her husband Clive did the same. They used to ask their children's school for permission for them to take a few days off, usually either side of the May half term. That way they could afford a family holiday together in somewhere such as Majorca or Minorca that wouldn't break the bank. Elaine didn't like it, but felt she had no choice.

This year she didn't want to do that. As her oldest son Adam, aged eight, gets older, she feels his schooling is too important for him to miss even a few days. "So this year I'm not sure what we're going to do," said Elaine. "We're considering going to the travel agent and seeing what late deals we can get. They tend to be cheaper. The trouble is you don't know where you're going to end up, and when you've got children, you have to consider these things. I can see us spending summer by the paddling pool."

Travel companies are unrepentant about the high cost of summer holidays, pointing to the simple economics of supply and demand.

Hotels put their prices up at times of peak demand - and travel companies have no option but to pass those increased costs on to customers, says a spokesman for ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents. "It as simple as that. If I were a hotelier and knew there was a time of year when demand was high, I would put prices up as well," said the spokesman.

Mark Barnett, headteacher of Westfield Junior and Infant School in York, believes such excuses are "lame". He doesn't think travel companies are doing enough to try to help young parents.

He understands when parents ask if their children can take some time off, and is generally accommodating (under guidelines from the Department for Education and Science, headteachers are allowed to authorise up to ten days out of school a year for children to go on a family holiday).

The "holiday-of-a-lifetime" - to see the Grand Canyon, for example, or visit relatives in Australia - can even have real educational value.

But he does worry about when parents ask to take their children out of school two or even three times a year. "It is a minority of parents, not a majority, and I do understand why they do it, but it can seriously affect a child's education," he says. "School time is very precious and I worry about children being able to catch up."

So what is the solution?

Former York Labour councillor Liz Edge, who has since resigned from the Labour Party, says summer holiday prices are an "absolute rip-off" and believes the Government should be doing more to regulate the holiday industry.

"The Government ought to start thinking rather less about their friends in higher places and rather more about ordinary people being victimised by this sort of thing," she says.

Try telling that to the Department of Trade and Industry. Consumer minister Gerry Sutcliffe met leading figures in the travel industry recently, a DTI spokesman confirmed - but it was not to "take them to task" over the issue.

"One of the things that did come up was the cost of holidays in the school holiday period," says the spokesman.

"It was discussed, but it was not a case of them being called in and told to get their house in order." So it's a softly, softly approach - the Government is not about to wield the big stick.

What the DTI would like to see, says the spokesman, is more local authorities setting up arrangements with travel agents so that discounts can be arranged for local children from their area who go on holiday during the school holidays.

Such schemes are being tried in some parts of the country.

Some education authorities are also believed to be investigating the possibility of having more, shorter terms, and even staggering term times so that not all children go on holiday at the same time.

That would have the effect of evening out demand, so there should not be such a difference in prices.

City of York Council says it will be looking at what happens elsewhere, and considering a "range of different options that might help to make things easier for parents".

A spokesperson did point out, however, that the dates for school terms had already been set for several years ahead.

There is one power the Government has introduced - but it is a power targeted at parents, not at the holiday industry. New legislation being introduced could see parents whose children do not attend school hit with a £50 fixed penalty. "City of York is looking at how best to introduce and use fixed penalty notices," says a council spokesperson. "This is likely to be introduced later this year."

It seems the cost of your family holiday could be about to get even higher.

How to get a holiday at a reasonable price

Graham Harris of independent York travel agent Travel Options says most travel agents have their hands tied when it comes to prices, which are set by tour operators.

But because demand this year for foreign holidays has not reached the level expected, you may still be able to find a reasonable bargain by shopping around for a late deal.

The key is to be reasonably flexible about where you want to go, and to leave booking late - Graham suggests about three weeks before you plan to go.

The more last-minute the deal you book, the better the bargain but the less choice you will have.

If you are travelling with children, Graham advises paying a little more to go to a named destination rather than taking pot luck.

That way you will know a bit more about where you are going, so won't end up with lager louts.

ABTA has quite different advice. Book early, the organisation says - the earlier the better, and preferably about six months before you plan to travel.

That way, because travel companies have the security of knowing they have a booking, you may get a reasonable deal.

Updated: 11:01 Friday, June 25, 2004