A COUNCIL on the south coast has been told it can apply to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal against the High Court judgment in favour of a father who was fined for taking his daughter on holiday during term time.

Senior judge Lord Justice Lloyd Jones, sitting in London, formally certified the case involving Isle of Wight Council raised ''a point of law of general public importance''.

The judge said the High Court itself was refusing permission to appeal, but it would now be open to the council to make its own application direct to the Supreme Court justices.

The formal refusal of the High Court in such cases is a device for allowing the Supreme Court to select which cases it wishes to hear.

The father, Jon Platt, was originally fined £120 for taking his daughter to Florida but magistrates ruled that he had no case to answer because she attended school regularly during the rest of the school year.

The local authority took the case to the High Court for clarification, and Mr Platt won the backing of the senior judges.

The ruling caused the Government to announce that it would consider making alterations to the law over absences, which comes under section 444(1) of the Education Act 1996.

Minister of State for Schools Nick Gibb requested the council return to court to appeal against the decision, and has promised Department for Education (DfE) funding and legal counsel for the application if it goes to the Supreme Court.