A bill that aims to protect children from the damaging effects of smartphones will be published on Thursday before MPs vote on it later this week.
The Safer Phones Bill, put forward by backbench Labour MP Josh MacAlister, will have its second reading in the Commons on Friday – the first opportunity parliament has to debate its principles before deciding whether it should proceed further.
Last October, Sky News reported that Mr MacAlister, a former teacher, had dropped plans to ban smartphones from schools because the government did not support the measure on the grounds that headteachers already have the power to ban phones – although it is not upheld in law.
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Instead, supporters of the bill hope the move will encourage the government to back other elements in it, including strengthened powers for regulator Ofcom to protect children from apps that are designed to be addictive and an increase in the “internet adulthood” age – when children can create social media profiles and email accounts – from 13 to 16.
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A supporter of the bill told Sky News the focus now was on securing these reforms with the hope that if the government is unable to commit to increase the internet adulthood age now, that it would pledge to do so in the future through the Online Safety Act.
The act, which was passed under the previous Conservative government, requires providers of online services to minimise the extent of illegal and harmful content.
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The regulator has said its duty around illegal harms will become enforceable around March this year, but the act is not expected to be implemented in full until 2026.
One measure supporters hope could be on the table is a government commitment to review the act to see if Ofcom is using its powers effectively.
One backer of the bill told Sky News: “Ofcom is about to get new powers which are untested.
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“We want to keep the issue alive – we know how popular it is among parents and parliament needs to catch up, frankly.”
Under the previous Tory government, schools in England were issued with guidance intended to stop the use of mobile phones in the classroom.
However, the guidance was non-statutory, leaving it up to individual schools to set their own policy.
Last year, a study by the Policy Exchange thinktank found that schools which effectively ban mobile phones get better GCSE results than those with “laxer policies”.
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The centre-right thinktank also said in its report that secondary schools in England where such a ban was in place were more than twice as likely to be rated outstanding by Ofsted as the national average.
However, an investigation by the University of Birmingham last month found that restricting mobile phones at school does not improve grades or mental wellbeing.
The study found that students’ levels of sleep, exercise and academic record did not differ between schools with and without phone bans, and that restrictive policies did not lower the overall time young people spend on their phones each day.
The debate over smartphone and social media use for children and teenagers had been reignited following Australia’s decision to bans under 16s from having social media accounts.
The legislation is set to come into force in November 2025 and will force platforms to take reasonable steps to ensure age-verification protections are in place.
