Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill Report Stage: Amendment 210

Amendment 210 to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill was defeated on 18 March 2025 by 324 votes to 167. The amendment would have created an independent dispute-resolution process for setting a school's published admission number (PAN), the maximum number of pupils a school is permitted to take, when local agreement between schools and local authorities cannot be reached. The vote concerns how decisions about school capacity are made and who has the final say when local parties disagree. Clause 51 of the bill already makes changes in this area, but Amendment 210 would have gone further by establishing a formal independent route for resolving such disputes. Proponents argued this would ensure school places reflect actual community need, giving parents greater confidence that their child can attend a suitable school. The government opposed the amendment, preferring the existing clause 51 framework without the additional independent mechanism. The division fell almost entirely along party lines. All 314 Labour and Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted did so against the amendment. The Conservatives (95 votes), Liberal Democrats (60 votes), and Reform UK (5 votes) all voted in favour, as did the Democratic Unionist Party (4 votes) and the Ulster Unionist Party (1 vote). The Green Party voted with the government against it. There were no notable cross-party rebels on either side.