Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of levels in smartphone usage on children's (a) level of reading comprehension and (b) average time spent reading per week.

The department knows that reading for pleasure is hugely important and brings a range of benefits, yet just 1 in 3 children aged 8-18 say they enjoy reading in their free time, and a recent omnibus survey found that 31% of parents of primary-aged children and 40% of parents of secondary-aged children said their child prefers spending time online or playing video games, citing this as a barrier to encouraging reading in their free time.

The department has launched the National Year of Reading 2026, in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust, to address long-term declines in reading enjoyment through engaging new audiences, reshaping public attitudes and building the systems needed to embed lasting, meaningful change.

The National Year of Reading encourages everyone to see how reading, in all its forms, can unlock more of our existing passions and interests, from reading a story in a print book or on an e-reader, to reading a magazine article or an online blog, to listening to an audio book on a phone or tablet. Recognising that, digital technology is not incompatible with the National Year of Reading.