Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has considered introducing national guidance on the potential physical health risks of excessive screen time for children and young people.

In 2019, the UK Chief Medical Officers published a commentary on the findings of a systematic review on screen-based activities and children’s mental health. This commentary included advice for parents and carers on agreeing boundaries with children and young people on time spent using screens outside of school and educational use. The commentary is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5c5b1510e5274a316cee5be8/UK_CMO_commentary_on_screentime_and_social_media_map_of_reviews.pdf

Further research examining the causal relationship between screentime and children’s physical and mental health and how it might be mediated is welcomed. The Department has no plans to publish additional guidance on screentime and children’s health at this time, but departmental policies will remain agile to emerging and future research.