Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the impartiality of its review into the impact of smartphones on teenagers.

In December 2024, DSIT launched a feasibility study on methods and data to research the impact of smartphones and social media on children. DSIT awarded the contract through an impartial tender process, which required all bids to declare any conflicts of interest. The winning bid was submitted by a consortium of academics with extensive published, peer-reviewed research on the topic, from nine of the UK’s leading universities. Following scientific best practice, the research team pre-published the details of their evidence synthesis, which is available here: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD42025641338.