Select committee: Education Committee
Conclusion 10
Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing
Published 25 May 2024
Paragraph 55
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Screen Time: Impacts on education and wellbeing All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
The next Government should work across departments including DHSC, DSIT, Education and the Home Office to produce guidance for parents on how to best manage and understand the impact of screen time on their children. A common sense approach would be to focus on aspects of screen time that are known to cause harm. For example, guidance should advise that children should not be able to access screens after they have gone to bed and should incorporate physical activity into their day to help balance time spent on screen. Guidance should also focus on the ways in which parents can monitor use of devices, the uses of parental controls and how to deal with problematic screen use, including when to seek help.
From: Education Committee, Fourth Report - Screen time: impacts on education and wellbeing (HC 118), paragraph 55, 25 May 2024
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 May 2025 (deadline 25 July 2024).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government recognises the Committee's concerns about screen time and says it is taking action, while stating that further evidence is needed in some areas and that it has set out how all recommendations will be carefully considered.
- On a statutory mobile phone ban in schools, the government says one is "not necessary" because survey evidence suggests schools are following the existing non-statutory guidance, and it will keep surveying schools to inform whether further action is needed.
- On banning smartphones for under 16s, it says there is "a lack of robust and causal evidence" to support this, and that it is building the evidence.
- On a consultation on the digital age of consent, the government says it "will give further consideration" to the recommendation and recognises the importance of keeping the area under review.
- On the Online Safety Act, it states that the child safety duties regime "should be fully in effect by summer 2025", subject to the draft codes passing parliamentary scrutiny once laid.