PARENTS fighting a town hall crackdown if they choose to educate their children at home have won support from MPs after an investigation.

Mothers and fathers from across the North-East and North Yorkshire have protested against proposals for a compulsory register, an annual inspection and private interviews of their children by council officials.

Petitions have been presented from Durham City, Hartlepool, Redcar, Skipton and Ripon and from scores of other constituencies across the country.

Now the Labour-dominated children’s select committee has thrown its weight behind the campaign, urging ministers to try a voluntary register for two years instead.

The committee’s report said it was unacceptable that many local authorities lacked accurate information on the number of children being home-educated in their area.

But it concluded: “In view of the concerns expressed by home educators about compulsory registration, we suggest that registration should be voluntary.

“We do not believe that annual home visits by local authority officers to home educating families would represent an improvement on existing safeguarding legislation.”

The committee also backed the parents on private interviews, concluding: “A parent’s, or child’s, refusal for such an interview to take place should not be included as grounds for revoking registration to home educate.”

The controversy arose after a Government-commissioned report by Graham Badman, a former director of children’s services, raised the alarm over gaps in town halls’ information.

It found that local authorities were aware of about 45,000 children taught at home – yet unofficial estimates had put the figure as high as 150,000.

The Badman Report recommended that local council inspectors should have the right to interview the child away from his or her parents.

Most controversially, it concluded that children taught at home were twice as likely to be on council at risk registers, after examining whether the practice was a “cover” for abuse and neglect.

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls must respond to the select committee’s report within two months, deciding whether to press ahead with the clampdown, which is part of the new Children, Schools and Families Bill.

However, it is likely that the Bill will run out of time with a General Election looming, with the Conservatives thought to be more hostile to the changes.