This was a lords amendment on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. The bill aims to improve children’s wellbeing by strengthening safeguarding, school oversight and welfare support, including cross‑agency information sharing and new duties for authorities and schools. It also introduces health and online-safety measures for schools and changes to how education is governed, funded and monitored. The Lords proposed a wide set of amendments (on online safety, allergy policies, adoption support and more); the Commons has largely resisted or replaced many of them with amendments in lieu, and is currently negotiating during the Consideration of Lords message stage, with further changes likely before final passage.
•Safeguarding and cross‑agency coordination: stronger information‑sharing across agencies, expanded duties around looked‑after and kinship care, and oversight of schools and academy providers to improve safeguarding.
•Online safety and data protection: Lords‑proposed measures to tighten online controls (age limits for social media, potential age verification, and VPN restrictions) plus new delegated powers to regulate internet services; debated in relation to speed, scope, and cost of implementation.
•Health and allergy safety in schools: requirement for allergy‑safety policies, annual reviews, staff training, incident reporting, and extended duties to non‑maintained special schools and independent schools; some provisions were narrowed or offset by amendments in lieu.
•Adoption support and corporate parenting: strengthened adoption support reviews and a broader corporate‑parenting duty across England and Wales (with cross‑border considerations), along with guidance and collaborative duties for local authorities.
The House of Commons approved a motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 106 to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill by 304 votes to 177. The Lords amendments sought to broaden protections and create new governance bodies, including measures related to mental health services and safeguarding in schools, but the Commons maintained its preferred approach. Two MPs voted against their party whip in this division, marking a small rebellion.
Two MPs voted against their party whipCommons backs disagreeing with Lords amendment 106Lords proposed broader protections and new governance bodiesMental health and safeguarding provisions were central to the debate
AI-generated context — may contain errors.
Turnout by party
74%
Ulster Unionist Party
1/1 (100%)
Traditional Unionist Voice
1/1 (100%)
Your Party
1/1 (100%)
Alliance
1/1 (100%)
Conservative
95/114 (83%)
Liberal Democrat
60/72 (83%)
Green Party
4/5 (80%)
Labour (Co-op)
294/401 (73%)
What happens next?
The Lords amendment result is sent back to the other House for consideration.
