Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will hold discussions with the Leader of the House on making parliamentary time available for scrutiny of Ofcom’s guidance on age verification and age assurance before publication of a government response.

Parliamentary scheduling is a matter for the Business Managers.

The government is focused on implementing the Online Safety Act as quickly as possible. Ofcom published its consultation on draft guidance about use of age assurance for sites displaying pornographic content on 5 December 2023, and this was open for responses until 5 March 2024. The Act requires that Ofcom consult with the Secretary of State before producing this guidance.

For the broader duties under the Act about protecting children from harmful content, we expect Ofcom to publish its draft codes of practice later in the Spring. The Act requires that codes of practice are laid in both Houses before coming into force.