Question
Will my hon. Friend join me in congratulating the staff, students and governors at Stoke Park secondary school, who have a “Never used, seen or heard” mobile phone policy? They were in this place yesterday at the Education Centre with a bunch of year 9 students, and we debated the ban on social media for young people. Does he agree that that is an essential next step in giving our children their childhoods back and protecting them from extreme anorexia, the manosphere, pornography and self-harming websites?50% vibes
Answer
I agree with my hon. Friend’s statement and thank the leaders at Stoke Park secondary school for being ahead of the curve and taking action on the use of smartphones in schools. This measure is part of our action to ensure that those below 16 are unable to access social media, so that they get their childhoods back. My hon. Friend will know that I have supported that from a number of different positions in Government, as well as with a private Member’s Bill that set out exactly that, along with some of the changes that we have now brought in for schools.14% vibes
Verdict: AMBER (66/100)
The Minister clearly agreed with the MP's congratulations to the Stoke Park leaders on acting early on smartphones in schools. The reply only partly answered the question on restricting social media for under-16s: it implicitly backed the policy and pointed to the Minister's own support and a private Member's Bill, but it did not explicitly call the restriction an essential next step. It also did not address the specific harms the MP listed, such as extreme anorexia content, the manosphere, pornography and self-harm sites, so the MP might reasonably ask again on those points.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Minister join in congratulating the staff, students and governors at Stoke Park secondary school on their mobile phone policy? | Addressed | Direct | The Minister directly says "I agree with my hon. Friend's statement" and thanks the Stoke Park leaders for being ahead of the curve on smartphones in schools, which squarely answers whether the Minister joins in the congratulations. |
| Does the Minister agree that a ban on social media for young people is an essential next step in protecting children from harms including extreme anorexia, the manosphere, pornography and self-harming websites? | Partially Addressed | Direct | The reply implicitly backs the under-16 social media restriction as part of government action and cites the Minister's own support and a private Member's Bill, but it never explicitly agrees it is an "essential next step" and does not engage with the specific harms listed (extreme anorexia content, the manosphere, pornography, self-harm sites). |