The Government is unlikely to back plans aimed at stopping children from overusing their mobile phones in school as the law is currently strong enough, Downing Street has signalled.
Labour MP Josh MacAlister is expected to introduce a Private Member’s Bill (PMB) in Parliament on Wednesday, aimed at protecting children from harms caused by excessive screen time.
The former teacher’s Bill would call for a legal requirement to be introduced so all schools in England are mobile-free zones.
But No 10 has signalled the Government is not likely to support the proposals, as headteachers can already ban phones from schools at their own discretion.
Asked if the Government would be supporting the Bill, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters that ministers understood parents’ concerns about mobile phone use, but added: “Headteachers already have the power to ban phones in school and many have chosen to exercise this right. So we don’t have plans to legislate in that particular area.”
However, the spokesman said the Government would not “get ahead of Parliamentary process”, adding: “We haven’t seen the Bill yet, but the Government will set out its position as usual at the second reading.”
When pressed whether this meant the Government believed the current law was adequate, he said: “That is the Government’s position on the question of banning phones in schools.
“Where headteachers have got the powers they need, and where pupils fail to follow the rules that headteachers implement in their schools, schools have got the power to confiscate devices.”
Ministers are instead focused on delivering the Online Safety Act, he added, which includes measures aimed at ensuring social media giants change their algorithms to filter out harmful content for children.
Great interview with @JoshMacAlister on @BBCr4today on his Bill on smartphone use among young people.
Given the impact of smartphone use and addiction on the mental health of children and young people and the concerns from parents, this is a really timely debate.
— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) October 15, 2024
Health Secretary Wes Streeting separately indicated some support for the Bill.
“Given the impact of smartphone use and addiction on the mental health of children and young people and the concerns from parents, this is a really timely debate,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Current guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during the school day is non-statutory, and was introduced earlier this year by the previous Tory government.
Whitehaven and Workington MP Mr MacAlister’s Bill would raise the bar of the guidance, ensuring all schools must follow it by law.
It is also expected to call for the age at which companies can get data consent from children without parental permission to be raised from 13 to 16 to make smartphones less addictive.
Other proposals include strengthening watchdog Ofcom’s powers to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive and committing the Government to review further regulation if needed of the design, supply, marketing and use of mobile phones by children under the age of 16.
Mr MacAlister, who led an independent review into children’s social care for the former government, said: “The evidence is mounting that children doom scrolling for hours a day is causing widespread harm. We need the equivalent of the ‘seatbelt’ legislation for social media use for children.
“Adults find it hard enough to manage screen time, so why are we expecting children to manage this addictive content without some shared rules? Parents are in an impossible bind over whether to ostracise their child from social media or expose them to the harms and addiction of content.
“Countries around the world are now taking bold action and our children risk being left behind. It’s time to have the national debate here in the UK.”
MPs are expected to debate the issue in the new year, Mr MacAlister’s office said.
Private Members’ Bills are law changes brought forward by individual MPs outside of the Government’s agenda and usually do not make it onto the statute book without support from ministers.
