Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill: motion relating to Lords Amendment 102

On 15 April 2026, the House of Commons voted on a motion relating to Lords Amendment 102 to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The Commons voted to insist on its disagreement with the Lords' version of Amendment 102 and to replace it with five government amendments in lieu. The motion passed by 259 ayes to 136 noes. Lords Amendment 102 concerned published admission numbers (PAN), which are the figures schools use to set how many pupils they will admit each year. The government argued that its own substitute amendments better captured what it described as the central aims of ensuring school quality and parental choice would be central to any decisions about admission numbers, particularly in a period of declining school rolls. The practical effect is that the power for the schools adjudicator to intervene in admission number decisions will be shaped by the government's preferred framework rather than the Lords' original text. The vote divided sharply along party lines. Labour MPs, including Labour and Co-operative members, voted unanimously in favour of the government's position, providing the bulk of the 259 ayes. Conservative MPs and Liberal Democrats voted against, supplying the majority of the 136 noes. The division on this amendment matched the broader pattern of the day's proceedings on the bill, in which the Commons rejected or modified several Lords amendments on topics ranging from school uniforms to mobile phones in schools.