It seems that the Import Attendance function on an Offline Activity can only be used once as a new upload overwrites any existing entries and importantly doesn't retain the original record in the reports. This does not happen in Events, it retains all the original records
As we have to use Offline Activity for external events and individual learning ie CSCS ,Gas Safe, and SSTS Cards, it's critical that records of attendance are retained for reporting purposes - for example, HR have to retain Asbestos training records for 30years!