Skip to main content

Written question asked by Bishop of St Albans (Bishops (affiliation)) on Monday, 20 November 2023, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 4 December 2023. It was answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom (Conservative) on Tuesday, 5 December 2023 on behalf of the Home Office.


Children and Young People: Self-harm

Question

To ask His Majesty's Government how many reported instances there are of violence or self-harm linked to video gaming in children and young people.

Answer

The Home Office does not hold information on the number of reported instances of violence or self-harm linked to video gaming in children and young people.

However, the Government takes this issue extremely seriously and is introducing a new offence through the Online Safety Act to make communications which encourage or assist self-harm illegal. This will protect people of all ages from this harmful content.

Equivalent provisions are set out in the Criminal Justice Bill currently making its way through Parliament, which create the same prohibitions offline.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL426
Session
2023-24
Subjects
Children Young people Video games Self-harm
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk