ABSTRACT
This chapter presents and analyses the data from Freedom of Information requests relating to the inclusion of deliberately misleading and fraudulent information on school application forms. It builds upon my research on the use of the criminal law to punish parents who submit false or misleading information on their child’s school application form. To date there have only been two prosecutions in connection with such applications. The first was under the Fraud Act 2006 (although the prosecution was dropped) and second was under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 (which was successful). The purpose of this chapter is to explore, through the use of original empirical research, whether local authorities, the Office of the Schools Adjudicator and the Department for Education, view fraudulent or misleading school applications as a significant problem. The Freedom of Information of requests were intended to ascertain whether (i) the issue deserved legislative and governmental attention, (ii) the existing sanctions are deemed to be adequate, and (iii) it is viewed as amounting to criminal conduct, or deserving of being treated as such.
