Crime and Policing Bill: motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 342

What happened: The House of Commons voted on 14 April 2026 to reject Lords Amendment 342 to the Crime and Policing Bill, which would have required specific evidence to be presented to a court when applying for a youth diversion order, a civil order used in terrorism and serious harm cases involving young people. The motion to disagree with the Lords passed by 281 votes to 70. In place of the Lords amendment, the government proposed its own alternative approach requiring statutory guidance to set out what evidence courts should consider when granting such orders.

Why it matters: Youth diversion orders are designed to intervene early with young people at risk of involvement in terrorism or serious harm, before a criminal conviction is secured. The Lords amendment sought to ensure courts would only impose these orders where particular forms of evidence were placed before them, embedding that requirement directly in statute. The government argued this would create unhelpful rigidity in what is a sensitive and complex area of law. Its alternative, relying on statutory guidance rather than hard statutory requirements, gives courts and practitioners more flexibility while still providing a framework for decision-making. The practical effect is that the evidentiary threshold for obtaining these orders will be shaped by guidance rather than primary legislation, which critics argue provides weaker protection for young people subject to the orders.

The politics: The vote divided largely along government and opposition lines. Labour MPs voted unanimously in favour, providing the bulk of the 281 ayes alongside small contributions from the Traditional Unionist Voice and Ulster Unionist Party. The Liberal Democrats supplied 59 of the 70 no votes, joined by the Greens, Plaid Cymru, one Conservative MP, and several independents. The Conservatives were notable mostly by their absence, with 115 of their MPs not voting. The division was one of several on the same day in which the government successfully overturned or modified Lords amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill, described by ministers as the largest criminal justice bill in a generation.