Media Literacy (Communications and Digital Committee Report)

Lord Storey Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Lord Storey (LD)]

My Lords, when our committee published its report on media literacy last year, we used words such as “crisis” and “leadership vacuum”. They were not chosen lightly. One in four UK adults finds it difficult to distinguish true from false information online, one in three believed a fake news story was real and 42% of all crimes are now scam related. United Kingdom has slipped from 10th to 13th place in the European Media Literacy Index. The question before us is not whether the problem is serious—that is beyond doubt—but whether the Government’s response is adequate and whether progress made so far justifies confidence that it will be. When I was putting together my short but perfectly formed contribution, it was before we received the Minister’s letter of plans and actions, so I want to deal with that in a moment.

I start where credit is genuinely due. As our chair mentioned, something has moved on the curriculum. The Curriculum and Assessment Review, published last November, identified media literacy as a priority. The Government accepted the recommendation to make citizenship education compulsory in primary schools, with financial media literacy embedded within it. The schools White Paper published last month recommits to embedding media literacy across the curriculum, with revised programmes of study expected by spring 2027 and teaching from September 2028.

These are welcome steps and I do not dismiss them, but I must be candid with the Committee that warm words and future promises are not the same as delivery. Our report called for media literacy to be anchored in a core subject such as English instead of computing. We called for it to begin in early years, with age-appropriate progression through every key stage. The Government have indicated a direction of travel, but we do not yet have the detail, resourcing or accountability mechanisms to ensure that, when 2028 arrives, what is taught in classrooms across the country is consistent and sufficient. Teacher training remains a glaring gap; without equipping teachers, we are building on sand.

On funding, our report was direct. Long-term, stable media literacy provision cannot rest on short-term government grants or the good will of technology platforms. We recommended a levy on large technology companies to create a sustainable and independently administered fund. Canada’s MediaSmarts is already co-funded by Meta, TikTok and Google. The Online Safety Act already provides for a fee levy on platforms for Ofcom’s regulatory work. Extending that model to media literacy is legally and practically achievable. The Government have not yet responded to this recommendation and I urge the Minister to address it directly as, while we wait, Meta has already suspended third-party fact checking in the United States. Platform priorities tend to shift and voluntary commitments erode. The sector cannot continue to depend on good will.

On governance, our report found that media literacy sits scattered across DCMS, DSIT and the Home Office and efforts are therefore fragmented, underfunded and undervalued. We called for a named Minister with clear accountability. This too has not been acted on. I want to be constructive, for I do not expect wholesale Whitehall reorganisation, but media literacy needs a champion at ministerial level who wakes up every morning for it. Without that co-ordination, which we need, it will not happen. Ofcom has repeatedly said that it cannot do this alone. It is a convenor and catalyst, not a curriculum authority or funding body. It should not be left holding a responsibility that the Government should fully discharge.

I am running out of time. A start has been made. We need a named Minister, a levy on platforms, a clear curriculum commitment with resources to match and a serious effort to reach adults who are being left behind. The democratic health of this country depends on citizens who can think critically about what they read and share. This is not an aspiration, but an urgent necessity. I look forward to the Minister’s response.