Media Literacy (Communications and Digital Committee Report)

Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts

Monday 16th March 2026 Grand Committee

[Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)]

My Lords, as a recently joined member of the Communications and Digital Committee, I congratulate my noble friend Lady Keeley on her leadership, other committee members on the report and their contributions today, and other noble Lords who have supported the issue over many years and shared their wisdom and expertise in this debate. The Government’s choice to publish their media literacy action plan as the first step in their strategy to develop a safe, informed digital nation today is a positive response to all that mutual work and an important step in achieving a more aligned and cross-departmental approach to this crucial issue. Unfortunately, alongside the noble Lord, Lord Storey, I spotted it only this afternoon so it somewhat impeded my speech. Much has already been said and I do not wish to repeat the well-made points already made. I will therefore focus on issues that have not been touched on and put some questions to the Minister.

I declare an interest as a previous chair of Goldsmiths, University of London, and current chair of Camden Council’s STEAM project, which brings together all the primary and secondary schools and youth services in the borough, working with local employers such as Google and the Roundhouse and anchor institutions such as the Crick to progress young people from all backgrounds in high-skill sectors. Because of that, I look at these developments from the point of view of those we are seeking to support—the students, young people and adults—and those seeking to support them. I very much agree with the local implementation recommendations, but strongly believe that we need to create branding, visibility and resourcing; that needs to be brought together and accessed simply and in similar ways across the country.

Focusing on education, the emphasis on media literacy in the curriculum is very welcome, but, as has been said, it is one of the changes on which schools will have to work in short order. Some of the others include the change in modernised qualifications, putting creativity and arts back in the curriculum and the enrichment agenda. In policy terms, we tend to take each issue separately, so it is good to see digital literacy and media literacy being taken hand in hand, but it is vital that one key centre brings all of the support and access to resources for media literacy together in one easily navigated place; my noble friend Lady Keeley mentioned this in her introduction.

In this instance, it seems that the National Centre for Computing Education is there to support digital and AI, but, as has been said, the emphasis on media literacy across English, history and citizenship, which is absolutely vital, is missing. We need, therefore, to think about the resourcing for that. In addition, within computing and digital, it is vital that there is, as my noble friend just said, an emphasis on learning about the morals and ethics of how productions are made.

As regards voting age, youth services, which have been touched on, need to be able to access the same kinds of resources to support their work. Can the Minister confirm that—or at least ask whether—youth services will be able to access those if a centre for media literacy is set up?

Post-16 education seems to me to be a missing area. It is not really touched on. In terms of media literacy, the emphasis is on pre-16 education. The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which looked at A-levels, T-levels and the new V-levels, seems to be silent on these issues. I ask the Minister to ask his colleagues in the DfE and DWP whether they can say why that is and what their plans might be.

Further education and universities also seem to be missing. Local collaborations and partnerships could be utilised to support schools and youth services in preparing and supporting young people on media literacy. Again, I ask whether that could be explored further, with further information made available.

Finally, in terms of those offering support, the BBC has identified itself as key. We hope that this issue will be part of its charter priorities. Other public service broadcasters and platforms need to be able to co-ordinate that, too. It is essential to have one place for all of their combined partnerships to be brought together.