Faith-Schools Admissions Cap

My Liberal Democrat parliamentary colleagues and I do not support any measures to remove this cap.

The Government is reportedly considering plans to remove the cap, which would mean that faith schools would no longer have to offer a proportion of their places to children who do not follow their religion but would instead be able to apply what some may reasonably regard as religious discrimination in 100% of their admissions. This same proposal was dropped by the previous Government in 2018.

The 50% cap has been an important safeguard, ensuring that faith schools do not exclude all children who live locally, whose families do not share the same beliefs.

We are committed to upholding a fair and inclusive education system that neither enables what some may regard as indoctrination nor discrimination based on religious belief. We advocate for a more open and inclusive admissions policy for faith schools, ensuring that they do not exclude children based on confirmation or otherwise, to a specific religious adherence. It would be wrong to discriminate for or indeed against a child/student because they are adherents of a particular faith.

Our goal is to promote diversity and equality within the education system, providing every child with the opportunity to access high-quality education regardless of religious belief.

I will oppose any proposed moves to remove the 50% cap, and will continue to push for an education system that is fair, open and inclusive.