Written question asked by Lord Lexden (Conservative) on Monday, 20 February 2017, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 March 2017. It was answered by Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 March 2017 on behalf of the Cabinet Office.

Politics: Education

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recommendations in the WebRoots Democracy report, Democracy 2:0: Hitting refresh on the Digital Democracy Commission; and what assessment they have made of its call to make political education compulsory in schools.

Answer: The Government notes the recommendations in The Institute for Digital Democracy’s report ‘Democracy 2:0: Hitting refresh on the Digital Democracy Commission’ and thanks them for their work in this very important area. The subject of citizenship has been part of the national curriculum for secondary maintained schools since 2002. One of the aims of citizenship education is to ensure that young people acquire a sound knowledge and understanding of how the United Kingdom is governed, its political system and how citizens participate actively in its democratic systems of government. New statutory programmes giving schools greater freedom over how to teach their Citizenship curriculum, including the aspects of political literacy, have already been established, taking effect in September 2014. In addition, The Government also has a range of free learning resources, such as Rock Enrol!, that aim to engage young people in the democratic system and can be used in an educational setting.

Secondary information