Non Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill: Motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 15

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 25 March 2025 to disagree with Lords Amendment 15 to the Non-Domestic Rating (Multipliers and Private Schools) Bill. The amendment, inserted by the House of Lords, would have preserved or modified business rates relief for private schools. The Commons voted to reject it by 319 votes to 166, keeping the government's policy of removing that relief intact.

Why it matters: The vote is part of the government's plan to end the business rates relief that independent (private) schools have historically enjoyed as registered charities. Removing this relief means private schools will pay full business rates on their properties, generating additional revenue for the Treasury that the government says will be directed toward state education. The change affects hundreds of independent schools across England and Wales, increasing their operating costs and potentially putting upward pressure on fees.

The politics: The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 287 Labour MPs and 28 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported rejecting the Lords amendment, as did all four Green MPs and one independent. All 101 voting Conservatives, all 63 voting Liberal Democrats, all five DUP MPs, all four Reform UK MPs, and one Ulster Unionist voted to accept the Lords amendment. There were no notable cross-party rebels in either direction. The Lords had inserted Amendment 15 as part of a sustained pattern of resistance to this element of the bill, which continued through further ping-pong exchanges on 31 March 2025, when the Commons similarly voted to reject subsequent Lords amendments on related provisions.