Written Evidence Mar. 11 2024
Inquiry: The future of news: impartiality, trust and technologyFound: , while others use terms including ‘media and information literacy,’ ‘critical media literacy’ and
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of her Department's media literacy strategy in countering (a) mis- and (b) dis-information.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
Improving media literacy is one of the government’s key tools in tackling the harm caused by misinformation and disinformation. To demonstrate how the Government is delivering against the objectives of the Online Media Literacy Strategy, we are publishing annual Action Plans each financial year until the end of 2024/25. Through media literacy grant schemes, we have provided almost £2 million in funding to a range of educational projects.
These projects seek to build the online safety and critical thinking skills of internet users, empowering them to respond effectively to the threats posed by mis- and disinformation, along with other online harms. All funded projects are evaluated robustly, including by independent experts, and findings will be published on gov.uk upon completion. This will improve the effectiveness and efficiency of future media literacy initiatives and inform government policy moving forward.
As part of this work, we established the Media Literacy Taskforce to bring together organisations in the media literacy landscape to amplify, increase and improve media literacy provision across underserved parts of the UK. Taskforce members advised the government on which projects should be awarded funding, and then helped grant recipients to maximise the impact of their projects.
Alongside the Strategy, the Online Safety Act updates Ofcom’s statutory media literacy duty to require it to take tangible steps to prioritise the public's awareness of and resilience to misinformation and disinformation online.
Written Evidence Mar. 01 2024
Inquiry: The future of news: impartiality, trust and technologyFound: Indeed, the Online Media Literacy Strategy published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps with (a) tech companies and (b) non-profits to improve the accessibility of digital content for people facing literacy barriers.
Answered by Saqib Bhatti - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority and continues to take steps to offer needed support, including through the new Cross-Whitehall Ministerial Group for Digital Inclusion.
Our 2021 Online Media Literacy Strategy seeks to support organisations to undertake activity in a more coordinated, wide-reaching, and high-quality way. Over the last year, we have funded 13 media literacy projects aimed at vulnerable and/or hard-to-reach citizens, including young women excluded from mainstream education and children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.
The Online Safety Act empowers Ofcom to request information from in-scope companies about their media literacy activities to allow better visibility of tech industry efforts.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of the population they estimate will be digitally literate by 2030.
Answered by Viscount Camrose - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
This Government has been clear that ensuring that no one is left behind in the digital age is a key priority. The 2023 Consumer Digital Index found that 92% of UK adults have the ‘Essential Digital Skills for Life’.
The National Curriculum subject of computing ensures that pupils become digitally literate so that they are able to use, express themselves and develop their ideas through information and communication technology, at a level suitable for the future workplace and as active participants in a digital world. Computing is compulsory in all Local Authority maintained schools across Key Stages 1 to 4.
Media literacy is also included in the citizenship curriculum which is compulsory for all maintained secondary schools. Furthermore, under our ambitious Online Media Literacy Strategy, we have provided almost £2.5million in grant funding for projects designed to build the media literacy and critical thinking skills for users of all ages.
The government has also introduced a digital skills entitlement in August 2020 for adults with no or low digital skills to undertake specified digital qualifications, up to Level 1, free of charge. Such qualifications enable people to gain the skills needed to participate in modern life, access further study, and find and progress in work.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to develop tools on social media to improve health literacy for (a) men and (b) women.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The National Health Service website and the NHS App are our main digital tools available to citizens, to support them in accessing services and making decisions about their health.
These are supported by the Department and NHS social media channels through a range of proactive media campaigns to help citizens make and sustain healthy behaviour changes, as well as receive the care they need by accessing the NHS at the right time, in the right way.
Clinicians across the NHS also support patients’ health literacy by providing clear information, increasing patients’ knowledge, and sharing decision making on their care.
Mentions:
1: Alex Davies-Jones (Lab - Pontypridd) We have all seen that, from a rise in social media influencers to marketing careers, online food and - Speech Link
2: Margaret Greenwood (Lab - Wirral West) , traditional means, because there are just so many websites that advertise jobs and so many social media - Speech Link
3: Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston) skills, such as creating spreadsheets or presentations; or new digital social media tools. - Speech Link
Written Evidence Mar. 20 2024
Inquiry: Defending DemocracyFound: , as well as our work to improve the public’s media literacy.
Correspondence Mar. 19 2024
Committee: Liaison Committee (Lords)Found: improve the national media literacy landscape.
Written Evidence Feb. 15 2024
Inquiry: The future of news: impartiality, trust and technologyFound: Media and AI literacy is key to ensuring a well-informed public capable of critically engaging with