Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill Report Stage: New Clause 36

MPs voted down a Conservative amendment to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill on 17 March 2025. New Clause 36, tabled by the Conservative MP for Sevenoaks Laura Trott, would have banned mobile phones in schools and required the chief medical officer to produce a report on the effects of social media on children's mental health, alongside a government research requirement. The amendment was defeated by 317 votes to 159. The practical effect of the vote is that a statutory phone ban in schools will not be introduced through this Bill. The government's existing approach relies on non-statutory guidance to schools rather than legislation. A requirement for the chief medical officer to formally assess social media's impact on children's mental health was also rejected. The Bill continues toward becoming law without either provision. Every Labour and Labour and Co-operative Party MP who voted did so against the amendment, providing the government's majority. The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats both voted unanimously in favour. Reform UK, the Green Party, the Democratic Unionist Party, and the Traditional Unionist Voice also backed the amendment. Neil O'Brien for the Conservatives led the argument for the new clause, describing the evidence of harm to children's mental health as already alarming. The vote sits within the Bill's Report Stage, a point at which MPs propose additions before the legislation moves to the Lords.