Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill Report Stage: New Clause 7

Parliament voted on 18 March 2025 on New Clause 7, a Liberal Democrat proposal to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill at report stage (the stage where MPs debate and vote on amendments before a bill passes to the House of Lords). The new clause would have required the Secretary of State to ensure free school meals were available to children from households earning under £20,000 a year and to automatically enrol eligible children in the provision, removing the need for families to apply. The motion was defeated by 313 votes to 77. The practical effect of the proposal would have been to extend free school meal eligibility to children in households below a £20,000 income threshold and to remove the existing requirement for families to actively request the benefit. Supporters argued that children in poverty would be better able to concentrate and learn if they were fed, and that automatic enrolment would reach families who are eligible but do not currently claim. The government opposed the measure, preferring its own approach, which includes a duty under the bill for state primary schools to provide free breakfast clubs. The Liberal Democrats voted unanimously for the new clause, with 59 of their MPs supporting it and none against. Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs voted against by 308 to 1, providing the bulk of the opposition. Smaller parties including the Democratic Unionist Party, Reform UK, the Green Party, and two independent-affiliated groupings voted for the clause. The vote sits within a broader debate at report stage about child hunger and poverty, with several related new clauses on free school meals tabled by MPs across different parties.