The Government has responded to the report ‘Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing’, published by the predecessor Education Committee in May 2024.
The Government’s response argues that the available evidence on whether screen time has a causal link with harm to children and young people’s mental health is “mixed”. The response refers to a 2019 report by the UK Chief Medical Officer, and a National Institute for Health and Care Research study published in 2023. It goes on to say that the Government will develop policy informed by a further study led by the Department for Science Innovation and Tech (DSIT).
The report urged the Government to consult on raising what is known as the ‘digital age of consent’. Currently set at age 13 – lower than that of other countries – it determines the age at which companies can receive children's data without parental permission. The response says: “We will give further consideration to the committee’s recommendation for a consultation.”
Another major recommendation of the report was for the Government to produce statutory guidance over the use of smart phones in schools. The Government argues this would be unnecessary as the vast majority of schools already have such policies in place. However, the previous inquiry heard from school leaders that having legally backed guidance in place would assist them in engaging with parents who challenge phone bans that are currently self-imposed by schools.
The Government’s response says it “notes” the recommendation that it should produce advice for parents of babies, that they should give sufficient attention to face-to-face interaction – a key element of linguistic and social development – and warns of the risks of screen time in reducing opportunities for this.
The response rejects the previous Committee’s recommendation that government departments, including Education, Health and Social Care, the Home Office and DSIT, should produce guidance for parents on how to best manage and understand the impact of screen time on their children. The Committee said this guidance should discourage children’s use of phones before bedtime and advise on how to use parental controls on children’s devices. The response restates the view that there is insufficient evidence of causality between screen time and harm.
Education Committee Chair Helen Hayes MP said:
“The sheer weight of evidence heard during the previous Education Committee’s inquiry was damning. Its cross-party members were unequivocal in their concern for the effects that over-exposure to screens and to social media – with the abundance of unchecked harmful, disturbing content that inhabits some platforms – can both have on children’s wellbeing.
“By contrast this response from the Government is disappointing in its lack of urgency to tackle an issue that is almost universally understood to be a defining issue of our time by parents, carers and people from across the education and care sectors.
“Like our predecessor Committee, we believe the Government should act on the mass of strong correlatory evidence between screen time and harm. Further delay will be to the continued detriment of children’s mental health, development and education.
“Whilst the Online Safety Act is a very welcome step, and we wish Ofcom and the Government well in implementing its provisions, few believe it will be enough. Where the response is particularly weak is on raising and enforcing the digital age of consent. We urge the Government to learn from other countries and consult on strengthening this regulation as soon as possible.
“The argument that most schools already ban phones misses the point that school staff would have a backstop, an added line of defence, if the law was on their side when facing challenge from parents or students.”
