Tackling truancy is not the responsibility of any one agency alone. The power provided by section 16 of the Crime and Disorder Act will be used in support of local multi-agency efforts to tackle truancy in which the police, schools and local education authorities identify and discuss local problems and draw up strategies to deal with them. The power will enable the education services and the police more generally to build on the work undertaken successfully in truancy initiatives in various parts of the country. It will deal with the lack of explicit power for the police to pick up truants which has prevented the widespread adoption of truancy schemes.

West Midlands Police and Sandwell Education and Children's Services have successfully bid for funding from the Home Office and Single Regeneration Fund for a Truancy Watch Programme.