Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 102
Monday, 9 March 2026 · Division No. 442 · Commons
170 MPs did not vote
Voting Yes means
Support the government's power to reduce pupil admission numbers at oversubscribed good and outstanding schools, rejecting the Lords' protection of parental choice
Voting No means
Oppose restricting good and outstanding schools from admitting more pupils, arguing parental choice drives school improvement and popular schools should be allowed to grow
What happened: On 9 March 2026, the House of Commons voted to disagree with Lords Amendment 102 to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, by 315 votes to 163. This means the Commons rejected a change the House of Lords had inserted into the Bill and restored the government's original wording. The vote is part of the "ping-pong" process (the back-and-forth between the two Houses when they disagree on the text of a Bill).
Why it matters: Lords Amendment 102 related to children's wellbeing provisions within the Bill. By voting it down, the Commons maintained the government's preferred approach to how schools and related services handle children's welfare. The practical effect depends on the specific wording of the amendment, but in general terms the Commons has blocked an alternative framework the Lords sought to introduce -- meaning the policy as the government designed it remains intact. The Bill as a whole covers a wide range of issues including school regulation, home education oversight, and child protection duties.
The politics: The vote fell almost entirely along government versus opposition lines. Labour MPs and their Co-operative Party allies voted solidly with the government (307 Ayes in total), while Conservatives (97) and Liberal Democrats (61) voted against -- together forming the bulk of the 163 Noes. The Democratic Unionist Party also voted No. There were no notable Labour rebels. The result mirrors several other Commons rejections of Lords amendments to this Bill on the same day, including divisions on Amendments 106, 16, and 17, all of which the government also won comfortably.
How They Voted
Government position: Aye
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