Media Green Paper

Debate between Luke Myer and Lisa Nandy

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Lisa Nandy]

On legislation, we will of course keep that option open and will not hesitate to legislate should we need to do so. We deliberately drew the parameters and contours of the Green Paper very broadly so that we could have that very open discussion and work together to ensure that we then take the action we need to take.

On a slightly more reflective note, the point that the hon. Lady makes about the ink not being dry before the landscape had changed is particularly true in the online space. Rather than thinking about a piece of legislation, the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology and I have been reflecting on the probable need to legislate quite frequently to keep pace with change.

When it comes to media literacy, I agree with the hon. Lady about AI. I think there are two parts to the issue: first, ensuring that we have the right regulation so that people can trust what they see and that we do nothing in the AI space that prevents good-quality journalism from being able to thrive; and secondly, equipping and empowering the people of this country with the skills and ability to navigate AI.

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Right now, Britain’s adversaries around the world are investing heavily in disinformation designed to disrupt democracies across the west; we are seeing the impact in this country as well. I welcome the regime set out to promote truthful content on social media, but promoting the good content is not the same as tackling the bad. I worry that there is quite a disparate approach across Government—across Ofcom, DCMS and the defending democracy taskforce. What will the Secretary of State do to pull together across Government to address disinformation and misinformation from hostile states around the world?

[Lisa Nandy]

I reassure my hon. Friend that I am working closely with the Secretary and State for Science, Innovation and Technology and the Home Secretary, as well as with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, who leads the social cohesion taskforce that is specifically looking at misinformation and disinformation, and at how we join up across Government to tackle the issue. We have recently had a huge debate in this House about the defence of our nation, and, given the global climate, we are rightly stepping up to invest more in defence, but there is a war being waged in our communities—on our streets, online, on social media—that we have got to take as seriously as we take equipping our armed forces with what they need.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Luke Myer and Lisa Nandy

Thursday 16th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

4. What progress her Department has made on creating a national youth strategy.

[The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Lisa Nandy)]

We have wasted no time in cracking on with the national youth strategy. We have almost finished recruiting to the youth advisory group and the expert advisory group, and I can tell the House that we have taken suggestions from Conservative Members and included a member of the uniformed youth groups on that youth advisory group, which will meet for the first time in late January or early February. My officials are reviewing the evidence base, which they will consider, and we are launching the strategy in the summer, with an interim report expected in the spring.

[Luke Myer]

My constituent Kylie is a teacher who works with excluded young people who have some excellent ideas about what we can do to address antisocial behaviour and improve youth provision. Can the Secretary of State provide an update on how the national youth strategy consultation will involve young people, so that we make sure that they are engaged in future policy decisions?

[Lisa Nandy]

We are absolutely determined to put young people back in charge of their destiny. They know better than we do the challenges that they face, and are often better at identifying the solutions. That is why we have put young people in charge of the strategy. We are co-producing it with them, and we will seek out a range of young people’s voices from every part of the country and every background as part of the process.