3rd Report - Media literacy
- HC No.
- Not recorded
- Published
- 25 Jul 2025
- Items
- 0
- Government response
- Government response published 9 October 2025 (deadline 3 October 2025). Read the government's response ↗
Select committee: Communications and Digital Committee
Media literacy
Closed
Opened 21 Mar 2025
Closed 16 Mar 2026
Communications and Digital Committee Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Inquiry scope (the committee's words)
This inquiry will seek to establish a clear vision for what good media literacy would look like in the UK, and examine the barriers to achieving this vision. The committee will consider the roles and responsibilities of the Government, industry and regulators in advancing media literacy, and aim to identify and prioritise the key actions required to enhance media literacy skills across the population. Read the Shorthand story: The UK has "fallen behind" on media literacy The report Media literacy was published 25 July 2025, the Government response was published 9 October 2025 and the report was debated 16 March 2026
Where it stands
The inquiry is closed, opened 21 March 2025.
The committee has published 1 report, most recently 3rd Report - Media literacy on 25 July 2025.
The government's response
Published 9 October 2025. The deadline was 3 October 2025.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Committee's report and shares its view that media literacy needs a coordinated approach, while declining some specific recommendations, including a formal impact assessment and a levy on platforms.
- On the 2021 strategy, the government says "we do not intend to publish a formal public impact assessment", but sets out key learnings from the funded pilots.
- On a levy for platforms, it says it prefers to continue building on the existing diverse funding landscape rather than centralising industry funding, and says a levy could place additional pressure on businesses.
- It agrees on the need for clear overall direction and commits to develop a Media Literacy Vision Statement, but does not state a date. It says Minister Narayan holds ministerial responsibility for online media literacy coordination.
- On an annual Media Literacy Week, it will "keep options" under consideration, noting this would need substantial sector input and careful assessment. It intends to publish the Local Media Strategy "before the end of this year".
Reports
- 3rd Report - Media literacy25 July 2025
Evidence
- 9 oral evidence sessionsLatest 10 June 2025
- 33 witnesses
Recent activity
- Government response to the Committee's report 'Media literacy'. 3rd Report, Session 2024-259 October 2025, Report published
- Ofcom's response to the Committee's report 'Media literacy'. 3rd Report, Session 2024-259 October 2025, Correspondence
- Letter from the Chair to Professor Becky Francis, Chair of the Curriculum and Assessment Review, Department for Education, dated 1 August 20251 August 2025, Correspondence
Reports
Oral evidence sessions
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| Date | Session and witnesses | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 10 Jun 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Catherine McKinnell MP · Department for Education,
Chloe Templeton · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology,
Matthew Hopkinson · Department for Education,
The Baroness Jones of Whitchurch · Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
|
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| 3 Jun 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Ed Leighton · Ofcom,
Kate Davies · Ofcom
|
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| 20 May 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Cerys Griffiths · BBC,
Lindsay McCoy · BBC,
Patricia Hidalgo · BBC
|
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| 13 May 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Elli Narewska · The Guardian Foundation,
Frances Yeoman · Liverpool John Moores University,
Jonathan Heawood · Public Interest News Foundation
|
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| 6 May 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Ben Bradley · TikTok,
Laura Higgins · Roblox,
Zoe Darmé · Google Search
|
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| 29 Apr 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Alistair Barfield · Deflect and Protect,
Carolyn Bunting MBE · Internet Matters,
Claire Pollard · Media Education Association,
Jonathan Baggaley · PSHE Association,
Matteo Bergamini MBE · Shout Out UK,
Vicki Shotbolt · Parent Zone
|
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| 22 Apr 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Chris Morris · Full Fact,
Dr Emma Stone · Good Things Foundation,
Dr Gianfranco Polizzi · University of Birmingham,
Hannah Perry · Demos Digital,
Marc Davies · Cwmpas,
Will Gardner OBE · Childnet
|
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| 1 Apr 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Andy Demeulenaere · Mediawijs,
Leo Pekkala · National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI),
Martina Chapman · Media Literacy Ireland,
Matthew Johnson · MediaSmarts
|
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| 25 Mar 2025 |
Oral evidence session
Dr Mhairi Aitken · The Alan Turing Institute,
Professor Sander van der Linden · University of Cambridge
|
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Who gave evidence
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| Witness | Organisation | Sessions |
|---|---|---|
| Alistair Barfield · Director and founder | Deflect and Protect | 1 |
| Andy Demeulenaere · General Co-ordinator | Mediawijs | 1 |
| Ben Bradley · Senior Government Relations and Public Policy Manager | TikTok | 1 |
| Carolyn Bunting MBE · CEO | Internet Matters | 1 |
| Catherine McKinnell MP · Minister for School Standards | Department for Education | 1 |
| Cerys Griffiths · Creative Director, BBC Education | BBC | 1 |
| Chloe Templeton · Deputy Director for Information Resilience and Public Safety | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 1 |
| Chris Morris · Chief Executive | Full Fact | 1 |
| Claire Pollard · executive board member | Media Education Association | 1 |
| Dr Emma Stone · Director | Good Things Foundation | 1 |
| Dr Gianfranco Polizzi · Assistant Professor in Digital Media and Communications, Department of Linguistics and Communication | University of Birmingham | 1 |
| Dr Mhairi Aitken · Senior Ethics Fellow in the Public Policy Programme | The Alan Turing Institute | 1 |
| Ed Leighton · Group Director, Strategy and Research (interim) | Ofcom | 1 |
| Elli Narewska · Head of News and Media Literacy | The Guardian Foundation | 1 |
| Frances Yeoman · Head of Journalism | Liverpool John Moores University | 1 |
| Hannah Perry · Interim Director | Demos Digital | 1 |
| Jonathan Baggaley · Chief Executive | PSHE Association | 1 |
| Jonathan Heawood · Executive Director | Public Interest News Foundation | 1 |
| Kate Davies · Public Policy Director | Ofcom | 1 |
| Laura Higgins · Senior Director, Community Safety and Civility | Roblox | 1 |
| Leo Pekkala · Deputy Director | National Audiovisual Institute (KAVI) | 1 |
| Lindsay McCoy · Executive News Editor of BBC Verify | BBC | 1 |
| Marc Davies · Digital Programme Lead | Cwmpas | 1 |
| Martina Chapman · National Co-ordinator | Media Literacy Ireland | 1 |
| Matteo Bergamini MBE · Founder and Chief Executive Officer | Shout Out UK | 1 |
| Matthew Hopkinson · Deputy Director, Life Skills Division | Department for Education | 1 |
| Matthew Johnson · Director of Education | MediaSmarts | 1 |
| Patricia Hidalgo · Director of Children & Education | BBC | 1 |
| Professor Sander van der Linden · Professor of Social Psychology in Society in the Department of Psychology | University of Cambridge | 1 |
| The Baroness Jones of Whitchurch · Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Future Digital Economy and Online Safety | Department for Science, Innovation and Technology | 1 |
| Vicki Shotbolt · Founder and CEO | Parent Zone | 1 |
| Will Gardner OBE · Chief Executive Officer | Childnet | 1 |
| Zoe Darmé · Director of Trust Strategy | Google Search | 1 |
Correspondence
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