Speaking exclusively to The i Paper, the Health Secretary said he was worried about what boys were accessing online amid increasing fears of male teens, in particular, being targeted with extreme views.
It comes as new polling, carried out on behalf of The i Paper, indicates strong support across the public for a ban on phone use in schools.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer told MPs last week that a full ban on phones in schools was “unnecessary” because most schools “do it already”.
“I think the point Keir made the other day is that most schools are already doing this. I think that, in some ways, the focus on changing the law to enforce something that’s already happening in most schools doesn’t quite get to the root cause of all of the challenges that we’re facing,” Streeting said.
“I’m worried about what’s going on in people’s homes, but I’m particularly worried about what’s going on in boys’ hands, and on their mobile phones and the way in which a lot of boys are socialising online when they’re playing games on things like their Xbox.”
Despite this, parents are significantly less likely to be in favour of an outright ban. Just over a third (34 per cent) said they strongly support a ban. In total, 63 per cent support a ban in general.
The polling, carried out by BMG Research for The i Paper, suggests support for a total ban has grown slightly following the show’s release, with a similar survey last October showing 31 per cent of adults strongly agreed with the proposal.
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“That is something that I’m taking seriously from a health and wellbeing perspective, as well as [Science and Technology Secretary] Peter Kyle from a technology perspective and [Education Secretary] Bridget Phillipson in terms of the role of the education system and support for children and young people.
Starmer was urged on Wednesday during Prime Minister’s Questions, to ensure all schools in England enforce a mobile phone ban.
Starmer said the proposal was “completely unnecessary” as he claimed “almost every school” already bans phones and said the “emerging battle” was about the content children can access.
“But the battle is not with schools that are already banning phones in school. The battle, and this is an important emerging battle, is to work together to ensure that we can ensure that the content that children are accessing wherever they are is suitable for their age.”
BMG Research interviewed a representative sample of 1,544 GB adults online between 26-27 March 2025.
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