Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have sought academic advice on their pilot study on social media bans, time limits and curfews, including on the number of participants needed for meaningful results.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
DSIT sought academic advice in designing the pilot study. The Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Dame Angela McLean, convened a roundtable of senior academics, alongside Chief Scientific Advisers from FCDO, DfE and College of Policing.
This advice included consideration of sample size. The pilots, by design, form a social research, qualitative study which is thorough, but not statistically representative. With 300 interviews with teenagers, and their parents, from varied perspectives, we aim to gather first-hand insights into their experience of social media.
DSIT worked closely with our delivery partner, Savanta, to design the study to established ethical standards, including securing informed consent from participants, the right of withdrawal, appropriate safeguarding arrangements, and data protection and confidentiality measures throughout.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they are seeking ethical approval for their pilot study on social media bans, time limits and curfews.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
DSIT sought academic advice in designing the pilot study. The Government Chief Scientific Adviser, Dame Angela McLean, convened a roundtable of senior academics, alongside Chief Scientific Advisers from FCDO, DfE and College of Policing.
This advice included consideration of sample size. The pilots, by design, form a social research, qualitative study which is thorough, but not statistically representative. With 300 interviews with teenagers, and their parents, from varied perspectives, we aim to gather first-hand insights into their experience of social media.
DSIT worked closely with our delivery partner, Savanta, to design the study to established ethical standards, including securing informed consent from participants, the right of withdrawal, appropriate safeguarding arrangements, and data protection and confidentiality measures throughout.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government what methodology they will employ in the consultation on children's social media use, both in terms of design and dissemination.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
We have launched a consultation exploring children’s use of technology. It seeks to understand how children can better be protected online, and how wellbeing can improve and enrich children’s lives. It will gather views on proposals including banning social media for under‑16s and restricting ‘addictive’ online features
The consultation is accessible for all – we hope to hear from parents, children’s organisations, bereaved families and industry - and from children themselves. We have also developed a child and parent-friendly version of the consultation and are progressing a national conversation where we will engage with these groups.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask His Majesty's Government how evidence from national and public bodies, including the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, teaching unions and the security services, will be balanced against submissions from technology companies and members of the public in the consultation on children's social media use.
Answered by Baroness Lloyd of Effra - Baroness in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The government has announced a consultation and national conversation to gather evidence to understand how best we can build on the Online Safety Act’s provisions to ensure children have positive, enriched digital lives.
We will consult parents, the organisations representing children and bereaved parents, technology companies and, crucially, children and young people themselves, because their views and voices must be heard. We will make sure that the consultation is evidence-led, with input from independent experts.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington on 20 May (HL7302), what steps they are taking in their role as penholder on Myanmar at the UN Security Council to propose a new resolution further to Resolution 2669 to address any violations by the government of Myanmar.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
As I highlighted on 20 April, the UK are concerned by reports of continued violations by the military on civilians of Myanmar. The UK consistently uses its role as penholder at the UN Security Council (UNSC) to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar. On April 4, we led a joint UNSC press statement, reaffirming the importance of "the timely and effective delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to all those in need, without disruption or discrimination". This statement marked the first unified UNSC message since UNSC Resolution 2669. On 30 April, we convened a UNSC meeting to address human rights violations by the Myanmar military and the impact of the March earthquake. In 2024, we convened six UNSC meetings on Myanmar. The UK will continue to shine a spotlight on Myanmar, including through our leadership role at the UN Security Council.
Asked by: Baroness Cass (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what further sanctions or other actions they are taking against the government of Myanmar, in response to the bombing of healthcare facilities following the recent earthquake.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
We condemn the Myanmar military's continued use of airstrikes against civilians and civilian infrastructure, including healthcare facilities. We are particularly concerned by reports that the military has continued to attack healthcare facilities after the recent earthquake. Since the coup in 2021, the UK has announced ten sanctions specifically targeting the military's ability to procure aviation fuel.