My View: Young People Online and Digital ID in Schools

I first wanted to draw your attention to the consultation we are running on how to keep children safe online and social media use. I think it’s vital that every voice is heard, so please do contribute and have your say: 

Growing up in the online world: a national consultation - GOV.UK

I completely appreciate that there will be so many different perspectives on social media, and I do think it is important to find a balance, as I recognise there are many children’s charities who are opposed to a full ban. Please know that I am 100% committed to ensuring children are safe when online and that they have a healthy relationship with social media. There is no option for inaction on this matter. The safety of our children must be a priority, and I have been glad to see steps taken recently that aim to tackle the pervasive issues we are seeing on social media – I was very proud recently to see Liz Kendall MP, Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, place sanctions on X after the appalling use of Grok to create illegal sexualised images of women and children. 

I was really pleased to see that we have announced a three-month consultation into children’s social media use, including exploring the option of banning it entirely for children under a certain age. It will also look at implementing a phone curfew to restrict excessive use of mobile phones and examine addictive design features such as ‘infinite scrolling’ and ‘streaks’. The results will be evidence-led and ministers have said they will speak to parents, tech companies and children and young people themselves as part of a national conversation on this issue. Our Government will respond to the consultation by this summer and I would encourage you all to submit your views, as I know this has been an issue of real concern by the numbers of emails I’ve had from constituents.   

We have also completed a study into the effects of smartphone and social media use on children. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is considering its findings and will publish the results in due course. I hope this study will build on previous legislation and help to ensure our laws are delivering safer spaces online. 

As you will know, the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is currently progressing through the House of Lords. I look forward to following its progress as it returns to the House of Commons in the coming weeks. 

We all want to keep children safe and secure in a dangerous world. It is right that we look at every means to give children security, and their parents and guardians reassurance.

While schools already use identifiers such as the unique pupil number (UPN), these are not recognised across other agencies that process and share information relating to safeguarding and welfare. This creates fragmentation, and I will not stand by while some young people fall through the cracks, left without a good education and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

For this reason, I welcome our Government’s decision to introduce a single unique identifier (SUI) for every child. SUIs will allow data to be shared more effectively and accurately by linking records together. This will in turn ensure that professionals supporting families and children are able to provide the right services to the right people at the right time. I am pleased to relay that the Department for Education (DfE) launched a pilot scheme in April 2025, testing the use of the NHS number as a consistent identifier within health and children’s social care. Future pilots have been planned to test this across wider safeguarding partners, including education.