The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill cleared its initial Commons hurdle after MPs rejected a Conservative amendment seeking to block it and call for a national inquiry into grooming gangs. The Bill will now undergo further scrutiny at a later date.
The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill passed its first stage in Parliament on Wednesday (January 8) after MPs gave it a second reading. A Conservative amendment seeking to block the Bill and call for a national inquiry into grooming gangs was defeated by a majority of 253 votes. The Bill then received its second reading without a further vote.
The Government's draft child protection legislation cleared its initial Commons hurdle following a heated Prime Minister's Questions, where Tory leader Kemi Badenoch suggested that failing to support the investigation would fuel concerns about a 'cover-up'. The Conservatives' motion to the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill demanded a new national inquiry into gangs, which, if approved, would have halted the legislation's progress. However, MPs voted to reject the motion by 364 votes to 111, a majority of 253. The division list showed that supporters of the amendment included 101 Conservatives, five Reform UK, two DUP, the TUV's Jim Allister, UUP MP Robin Swann, and Independent Alex Easton, with no Labour MPs supporting it. When asked if the Bill should receive a second reading, shouts of 'no' could be heard, and a division was initially called, but it was later cancelled. The Bill will face further scrutiny at a later date. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill aims to ensure all state schools – academies and those run by councils – adhere to the same pay and conditions framework. Academies, which operate independently from local authorities, currently have the freedom to set their own pay and conditions for staff, with some academies exceeding national pay scales for teachers. The new Bill would ensure all teachers are part of the same core pay and conditions framework, regardless of whether they work in a local authority-run school or an academy. The Bill also includes other measures, such as requiring all state schools, including academies, to teach the national curriculum. It will also allow councils to open new schools that are not academies and put an end to the forced academisation of schools run by local authorities that Ofsted identifies as a concern. The Government also plans to strengthen child protection with a new register of all home-schooled children in England
EDUCATION CHILD PROTECTION BILL PARLIAMENT SCHOOLS
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