A late night House of Commons announcement last night heard Reading West and Mid Berkshire MP Olivia Bailey, who is also an education minister, promise to put social media restrictions on under 16s.
“Let us be clear, the status quo cannot continue,” she said, adding that the government was ‘consulting on the mechanism.’
It means they will either be blocked from social media or face new curbs on apps, in what’s being described as a climb down by the government.
The concession was announced after Lord Nash, the former Tory education minister, tried to push through a full social media ban within 12 months.
MPs backed the amended proposals by 272 votes to 64 and it will now head back to the Lords again – so they can decide if it is what they want adopted.
Earlier that evening, the Lords backed a ban on social media for the under 16s by a majority of 151, and with the end of the Parliamentary year fast approaching, MPs were ordered to stay late.
The survival of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill could have dived, after a lot of ping ponging between the Lords and the Commons over the detail.
So the late night call was made to progress it, as it was running out of Parliamentary time.
Just after 10.45pm last night, the Bill returned to the Commons, and Ms Bailey, in her capacity as Education Minister, brought forward a new proposal.
“We are clear, under any outcome, we will impose some form of age or functionality restrictions for children under 16,” she said.
“This is a huge step forward in keeping children safe and supporting parents in their fight against screens destroying children’s lives.”
A government consultation on next steps is currently underway and due to report in the next few months.
It is believed to be looking at a range of measures including daily time limits on apps, digital curfews and tougher age verification.
Last week, the government announced that schools will be forced to ban smartphones, making the ban mandatory.
Currently headteachers have ‘non statutory guidance’ about how schools should be mobile free.
West Berkshire Council aligns with national guidance for schools to be mobile phone-free environments, aiming for a “phone-free by default” policy to reduce distractions and improve student wellbeing.
While schools maintain their own behaviour policies, they are expected to prohibit phone use during the school day, including breaks, with restrictions in place for most secondary schools.
