Lord Leong
Main Page: Lord Leong (Labour - Life peer)Media Literacy (Communications and Digital Committee Report)
Lord Leong Excerpts
Lord in Waiting/Government Whip (Lord Leong) (Lab)
My Lords, in view of the limited time that we have, I shall try to speak as quickly as I can to allow the committee’s chair to sum up. I am grateful to all noble Lords who have contributed such thoughtful and compelling insights this afternoon. I thank my noble friend Lady Keeley for securing this timely debate.
The quality of the discussion reflects something on which I believe the Grand Committee is united: media literacy is now a foundational skill. It underpins people’s ability to navigate the digital world with confidence, resilience and independence. Media literacy brings clear benefits to individuals and to society as a whole. It gives people the confidence to understand the information they encounter, recognise what is trustworthy and make choices that support their well-being. It helps parents guide their children with clarity and reassurance. It empowers young people to explore ideas safely and participate in learning and creativity. It supports adults of all ages to feel more capable and in control as they navigate an increasingly digital environment.
A media-literate society is also harder to mislead. It is better able to engage constructively in public debate and more confident in using new technologies. In short, it contributes to a more resilient, more connected society in which everybody can take part. Our ambition is therefore very clear. We want every person in the United Kingdom to benefit from strong media literacy skills and to feel informed, confident and able to participate fully in the digital world.
Achieving that ambition requires a whole-of-society effort. The Government have an important leadership role, but lasting progress depends on co-ordinated action across our public systems, including health and education, and on close co-operation with regulators, civic society, industry, communities, families and other related or interested stakeholders. When each part of society contributes, we create a digital environment that supports opportunity, strengthens trust and helps people thrive.
The Communications and Digital Committee’s report highlighted both the importance of media literacy and the need for stronger co-ordination in how it is delivered. Since the report was published, and since the Government set out their response, we have focused on strengthening delivery and learning across the system. This work is now being taken forward through the cross-government media literacy action plan, which brings departments, regulators and partners together behind shared priorities and sets the direction for the coming years.
Within this plan, we have established a clearer framework for delivery. It is grounded in evidence, aligned with Ofcom’s statutory responsibilities and focused on the areas where media literacy can make the greatest practical difference. This reflects a deliberate shift from strategy to action, ensuring that our commitments translate into support that reaches people and communities across the country.
Alongside this, the Online Safety Act provides an important foundation. It establishes the regulatory protections that people rightly expect when they go online, while also strengthening the wider environment in which media literacy can develop. The Act updated Ofcom’s media literacy duties. Ofcom already had a statutory responsibility to promote media literacy, but the Act introduces more targeted responsibilities. These include helping the public understand harmful online content and behaviour, including misinformation and disinformation, and addressing risks faced by groups who are more likely to experience harm, including women and girls.
The Act also requires Ofcom to publish a media literacy strategy. The first of these was issued in October 2024, as some noble Lords mentioned, and has already begun to shape practical delivery. Ofcom is now taking forward a range of initiatives under that strategy. These include training for teachers, targeted support for older adults, work focused on elections and AI-generated content and the development of a place-based approach that strengthens local delivery through trusted community organisations. We are also working closely with Ofcom to ensure that our approach complements the regulator’s role and supports co-ordination across the wider system. I am grateful for the thoughtful contributions we have heard today.
I will now turn to points raised by several noble Lords in response to the themes that have emerged across the debate. Due to the pressure of time, if I have not responded to all questions, I will get my officials to go through Hansard and ensure that every question is answered, with a copy placed in the Library.
My noble friend Lady Keeley spoke about the importance of leadership and co-ordination. I want to be clear that the Government have strengthened their approach in response to that challenge. Strong cross-government working underpins our approach. Media literacy has been embedded across key policy areas, rather than treated in isolation. The media literacy action plan brings departments, Ofcom and partners across society into a single, co-ordinated effort shaped by evidence and the practical experience of those delivering the work on the ground.
This is the first time that the Government have taken such a comprehensive approach to media literacy. The plan has been shaped through collaboration across government and is informed by lessons from civil society organisations and international partners. Our aim is simple: to meet people where they are, through the places and institutions they trust, and to build on what we know makes a real difference.
In practice, this means raising awareness of media literacy and improving access to reliable information, preparing children and young people for a digital future, strengthening support in communities for those most at risk and ensuring that government action complements Ofcom’s statutory responsibilities. Funding for the local media strategy will be announced very soon. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is currently considering whether the BBC’s contribution to media literacy should be more clearly reflected in the public purposes. Taken together, this creates a more joined-up and effective approach, and we will continue to support effective co-ordination and delivery across government.
By 2029, the action plan aims to make a tangible difference by improving critical engagement with online content and access to trusted information through education, libraries and local services. We will keep progress under review and publish updates on GOV.UK so that families, educators, communities and parliamentarians can see how delivery is progressing and how our approach evolves as new risks and opportunities emerge.
My noble friend Lady Keeley also asked how the Government will ensure that media literacy receives sufficient focus within wider digital inclusion work. Media literacy is a core part of our work on digital inclusion. It helps people build the skills and confidence to use online services safely and effectively. Consistent evaluation of the media literacy programme is crucial. The media literacy action plan includes action to encourage the use of the Ofcom evaluation toolkit to ensure consistent, high-quality education. The digital inclusion innovation fund was designed to build an evidence base for effective digital inclusion interventions. The project will conclude by March 2026. Lessons from the fund will inform future support to help more people get online with confidence.
Several noble Lords asked about social cohesion. The noble Lord, Lord Parkinson—
The Deputy Chairman of Committees (Baroness Watkins of Tavistock) (CB)
My Lords, there is a Division in the House, so the Committee will adjourn for 10 minutes. There was a medical emergency in the Chamber earlier, which is why everything is out of sync. We have a hard finish at 8 pm, so if noble Lords vote swiftly come back, we might start before the 10 minutes is up so that we can complete.
Lord Leong (Lab)
My Lords, before we were interrupted, several noble Lords had asked about social cohesion. On 9 March, MHCLG published the Protecting What Matters strategy—which the noble Lord, Lord Parkinson, mentioned and which was the subject of the Statement during dinner break business this evening—a cross-government package of measures to support integration, strengthen social cohesion and counter extremism.
Media literacy is referenced as a supporting element within that wider plan. That is why it is embedded in the digital inclusion action plan and supported through the £11.9 million Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund and its associated committee, chaired by my noble friend Lady Armstrong. This funding backs innovative projects delivered through trusted local settings, particularly reaching vulnerable and excluded groups.
We agree with my noble friend that technology platforms also have an important role to play. That is why companies such as Google, through Be Internet Legends, and Meta, through Get Digital, are already reaching millions of people. Ofcom’s strategy rightly places collaboration with platforms at its heart, including through media literacy by design. The Government welcome Ofcom’s consultation on how platforms, broadcasters and streaming services can go further, with recommendations expected in spring 2026.
The Government also recognise the importance of sustainable funding for media literacy. However, we do not believe a separate levy is the right approach. Media literacy is already supported through programmes linked to wider priorities such as online safety and digital inclusion, alongside Ofcom’s role. This avoids duplicating the Online Safety Act levy or placing additional burdens on businesses.
Several noble Lords asked about having a specific Minister responsible for media literacy. I spend most of my time at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and I can assure noble Lords that my colleague in the other place, Minister Narayan, holds ministerial responsibility for online media literacy, providing strategic leadership and championing join-up and delivery across government. I also assure noble Lords that he has regular conversations with the Technology Secretary on a daily basis to ensure that media literacy is at the heart of the Government’s agenda.
The committee also reminded us that, although media literacy is a vital life skill, many adults remain unaware of its value or how it relates to their daily lives. This is why the Government are using their voice to raise awareness and guide people towards trusted support. In February, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology launched the “You Won’t Know until You Ask” campaign, which supports parents and carers of children aged between eight and 14 and focuses on something very simple: encouraging conversations about what children see online. Many parents want to have these conversations but are unsure where to start. The message of the campaign is straightforward and reassuring. Parents do not need specialist knowledge. They simply need to ask. The campaign is currently running across Yorkshire and the Midlands. By testing it regionally, we can learn what works best and how to reach families effectively.
Alongside this campaign, we have launched the new “Kids Online Safety Hub”, developed with the Department for Education. The hub offers practical guidance to help parents ask open questions, build trust with their children and encourage critical thinking, which several noble Lords mentioned this evening. It also connects families with trusted advice and support. The campaign and the hub are grounded in evidence and shaped by expert input and testing with parents. Early engagement has been encouraging, particularly through schools and trusted community networks.
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Hampton, for drawing attention to the independent curriculum and assessment review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis. As noble Lords know, a consultation is currently happening; we hope to be able to publish its findings by spring 2027, with implementation in 2028. The review was clear that media literacy is a vital skill for young people in a rapidly changing digital world. The Government have welcomed the review and are taking steps to progress its recommendations. As part of that, we are committed to strengthening media literacy in the updated national curriculum. We want all children to leave school with the knowledge, understanding and skills to enable them to use technology creatively and purposefully while becoming discerning consumers of information.
Several noble Lords asked how far media literacy will be embedded in the curriculum and what support teachers will receive to deliver it effectively. Regulation alone cannot equip young people for the digital world they experience every day. Children and young people need the ability to think critically about the information they encounter—I agree with all noble Lords on this. They need to understand how platforms, algorithms and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, shape what they see and how content spreads. Media literacy will be embedded across subjects more clearly so that people learn to recognise misinformation and disinformation, including AI-generated content, and understand how messages are constructed across different media. Changes to the English curriculum at GCSE will support pupils to question what they read, recognise persuasive techniques and identify emotionally charged language.
We are also strengthening citizenship education so that children begin developing these skills early, with age-appropriate learning continuing throughout secondary school. Updated programmes of study will be consulted on this year, with a new national curriculum following in 2027 and teaching beginning from 2028, as I mentioned earlier. We have already taken steps in this direction.
In the interests of time, I will touch on a couple more points and then conclude. The noble Lord, Lord Freyberg, spoke powerfully about the changing nature of how information is created and consumed. I am grateful to him for highlighting the growing importance of visual literacy. As images, video and AI-generated content increasingly shape the information people encounter online, the Government recognise the need for individuals to be able to interpret, question and assess not only what they read but what they see. We will continue to consider how media literacy, including visual literacy, can be strengthened and kept up to date as technologies and online behaviour evolve.
Several noble Lords asked about democracy. More than two millennia ago, the Athenian historian Thucydides—please forgive my pronunciation—warned how falsehood can erode democratic life, so this is nothing new: it goes back 2,000 years. Today, misinformation and deliberate disinformation spread swiftly online, often outpacing accurate information and eroding trust in institutions and the democratic process. The Government are responding with measures such as the Online Safety Act, which assigns greater responsibilities to technology platforms to tackle harmful and misleading content online. However, regulation by itself is not sufficient. Enhancing media literacy and critical thinking, which is so often mentioned, is crucial for citizens to evaluate information responsibly and to preserve trust in democratic debate and the integrity of our elections.
Finally, we are closely monitoring international developments on digital replicas and engaging with stakeholders on the implications for the United Kingdom. These issues will be considered further in our forthcoming report on copyright and AI.
This debate has shown the strength of feeling across the Committee about the value of media literacy and the importance of getting this right. The question before us is no longer whether we act but how quickly and effectively we deliver. For the first time, the media literacy action plan provides a single map for the work ahead. It brings together education, regulation, trusted information and local delivery in a way that is practical, evidence-led and focused on improving people’s outcomes across the country.
Our ambition is clear: for everyone, whatever their age or background, to have the confidence and skills to navigate the online world safely and thoughtfully. I am grateful to all noble Lords for their insight and the generosity shown in their contributions. The perspectives they have shared this afternoon will continue to inform our work. A more media-literate society is not simply better informed; it is more resilient, more confident and more connected. That is the future we are working towards, and I look forward to continuing that work with noble Lords across the Committee.