On 15 June, the government published a progress statement in response to the ‘Growing up in the Online World’ consultation.

This set out a package of new measures including banning social media platforms from offering their services to under 16s and restricting harmful functionalities, including stranger communication, across a wider range of services for under 16s. Restrictions on harmful functionalities will also be on by default for 16 and 17 year olds.

The government has committed to provide a further update, including on restrictions for persuasive design features, in the coming weeks.

We have taken a power in the Crime and Policing Act to close loopholes in the Online Safety Act regarding AI chatbots. This means unregulated chatbots will have to comply with duties under the Online Safety Act to protect their users from illegal content once the relevant legislation is passed.

Alongside this we are considering the evidence from the ‘Growing up in the online world’ consultation. Some responses felt that chatbots could support children’s wellbeing. However, we also heard concerns about how these services can provide children with harmful, misleading, or inaccurate advice.

Following the publication of the progress statement in June, we plan to provide a further update on the consultation in the coming weeks.

The Prime Minister announced on 8 June that the UK will be the first country in the world where it will be impossible for any child in the UK to take share or view nude images.

We will work with tech companies for three months to ensure that comprehensive nudity detection is implemented at operating system level, with adults able to switch it off by proving they are over-18 through age assurance. If industry does not meet our high expectations, then we will legislate.

Nudity detection happens entirely on‑device: no data leaves the device; there is no reporting to industry, government or law enforcement. Apple and Google have both produced public documentation explaining that their existing nudity detection technology happens entirely on device and neither company has access to the imagery,

Our engagement with industry over three months is with the objective of enhancing this existing technology to apply comprehensively and effectively across the device. Efficacy, proportionality and user privacy will of course continue to be central to those discussions.

The Prime Minister announced on 8 June that the UK will be the first country in the world where it will be impossible for any child in the UK to take share or view nude images. We will work with tech companies for three months to ensure that comprehensive nudity detection is implemented at operating system level, with adults able to switch it off by proving they are over-18 through age assurance. If industry does not meet our high expectations, then we will legislate.

The primary aim of this intervention is to disrupt grooming and sextortion pathways, to prevent exploitation of children as early as possible; and as an additional safety intervention to ensure that children cannot access pornographic material.

It is important that each user of a smartphone uses the device with their own operating system account. Such an account should be set up with nudity detection default-on, and only deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18. If a device is shared, parents/carers should make sure that default-on nudity detection protections are not deactivated if the device is likely to be used by a child. Parents/carers should also be mindful if their phone – which may have nudity detection deactivated – is picked up by a child. Risks such as this, amongst others, will rightly form part of the government's three-month engagement with tech companies to work through technical solutions to meet the government's objective.

While this intervention is specifically bounded to nudity detection which can be deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18, the government will consider the benefits and risks of wider potential use cases for these technological innovations.

Device-level age assurance could have further applicability to other online age restrictions. The Prime Minister announced restrictions on social media services for under-16s, on 15 June - Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back - GOV.UK.

The government committed to learn lessons from Australia’s experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards; and that Ofcom will conduct a rapid study on what is effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16.

Device-level age assurance can be more effective, convenient and privacy preserving for the user – including making it harder for users to circumvent restrictions via VPNs as can be done with platform level age checks. The government will continue to actively consider the extent to which device-level age assurance could be used to restrict access to age-gated services, such as social media and VPN services. The government’s announcement on 15 June 2026 did not include any explicit proposal to restrict or ban VPNs for under-16s, or universal screen time proposals.

We welcome measures that tech companies have already brought forward in this area – such as nudity detection already implemented by both Apple and Google. Apple introduced device-level age assurance in its iOS26.4 operating system update in March 2026, and expanded Communication Safety features to intervene when gore or violent content is detected on child accounts. These are constructive and welcome developments, which will protect children from other types of harmful content as well as nudity. Key to the targeting of such interventions is the differentiation of a child user of a device, which can be achieved through device-level age assurance to activate other safety interventions. The government will continue to consider options to go further in this respect.

Regarding the use, and restricted use, of devices while children are at school, Department for Education guidance (updated February 2026) is explicit that all schools should be mobile phone free environments by default, and that schools prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Furthermore, the government continually horizon scans to appraise new technological innovations which may enable better safeguarding of children online, and device usage in school. The government engages with industry regularly to stay abreast of promising products which could be applied to better safeguarding children.

The Prime Minister announced on 8 June that the UK will be the first country in the world where it will be impossible for any child in the UK to take share or view nude images. We will work with tech companies for three months to ensure that comprehensive nudity detection is implemented at operating system level, with adults able to switch it off by proving they are over-18 through age assurance. If industry does not meet our high expectations, then we will legislate.

The primary aim of this intervention is to disrupt grooming and sextortion pathways, to prevent exploitation of children as early as possible; and as an additional safety intervention to ensure that children cannot access pornographic material.

It is important that each user of a smartphone uses the device with their own operating system account. Such an account should be set up with nudity detection default-on, and only deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18. If a device is shared, parents/carers should make sure that default-on nudity detection protections are not deactivated if the device is likely to be used by a child. Parents/carers should also be mindful if their phone – which may have nudity detection deactivated – is picked up by a child. Risks such as this, amongst others, will rightly form part of the government's three-month engagement with tech companies to work through technical solutions to meet the government's objective.

While this intervention is specifically bounded to nudity detection which can be deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18, the government will consider the benefits and risks of wider potential use cases for these technological innovations.

Device-level age assurance could have further applicability to other online age restrictions. The Prime Minister announced restrictions on social media services for under-16s, on 15 June - Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back - GOV.UK.

The government committed to learn lessons from Australia’s experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards; and that Ofcom will conduct a rapid study on what is effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16.

Device-level age assurance can be more effective, convenient and privacy preserving for the user – including making it harder for users to circumvent restrictions via VPNs as can be done with platform level age checks. The government will continue to actively consider the extent to which device-level age assurance could be used to restrict access to age-gated services, such as social media and VPN services. The government’s announcement on 15 June 2026 did not include any explicit proposal to restrict or ban VPNs for under-16s, or universal screen time proposals.

We welcome measures that tech companies have already brought forward in this area – such as nudity detection already implemented by both Apple and Google. Apple introduced device-level age assurance in its iOS26.4 operating system update in March 2026, and expanded Communication Safety features to intervene when gore or violent content is detected on child accounts. These are constructive and welcome developments, which will protect children from other types of harmful content as well as nudity. Key to the targeting of such interventions is the differentiation of a child user of a device, which can be achieved through device-level age assurance to activate other safety interventions. The government will continue to consider options to go further in this respect.

Regarding the use, and restricted use, of devices while children are at school, Department for Education guidance (updated February 2026) is explicit that all schools should be mobile phone free environments by default, and that schools prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Furthermore, the government continually horizon scans to appraise new technological innovations which may enable better safeguarding of children online, and device usage in school. The government engages with industry regularly to stay abreast of promising products which could be applied to better safeguarding children.

The Prime Minister announced on 8 June that the UK will be the first country in the world where it will be impossible for any child in the UK to take share or view nude images. We will work with tech companies for three months to ensure that comprehensive nudity detection is implemented at operating system level, with adults able to switch it off by proving they are over-18 through age assurance. If industry does not meet our high expectations, then we will legislate.

The primary aim of this intervention is to disrupt grooming and sextortion pathways, to prevent exploitation of children as early as possible; and as an additional safety intervention to ensure that children cannot access pornographic material.

It is important that each user of a smartphone uses the device with their own operating system account. Such an account should be set up with nudity detection default-on, and only deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18. If a device is shared, parents/carers should make sure that default-on nudity detection protections are not deactivated if the device is likely to be used by a child. Parents/carers should also be mindful if their phone – which may have nudity detection deactivated – is picked up by a child. Risks such as this, amongst others, will rightly form part of the government's three-month engagement with tech companies to work through technical solutions to meet the government's objective.

While this intervention is specifically bounded to nudity detection which can be deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18, the government will consider the benefits and risks of wider potential use cases for these technological innovations.

Device-level age assurance could have further applicability to other online age restrictions. The Prime Minister announced restrictions on social media services for under-16s, on 15 June - Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back - GOV.UK.

The government committed to learn lessons from Australia’s experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards; and that Ofcom will conduct a rapid study on what is effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16.

Device-level age assurance can be more effective, convenient and privacy preserving for the user – including making it harder for users to circumvent restrictions via VPNs as can be done with platform level age checks. The government will continue to actively consider the extent to which device-level age assurance could be used to restrict access to age-gated services, such as social media and VPN services. The government’s announcement on 15 June 2026 did not include any explicit proposal to restrict or ban VPNs for under-16s, or universal screen time proposals.

We welcome measures that tech companies have already brought forward in this area – such as nudity detection already implemented by both Apple and Google. Apple introduced device-level age assurance in its iOS26.4 operating system update in March 2026, and expanded Communication Safety features to intervene when gore or violent content is detected on child accounts. These are constructive and welcome developments, which will protect children from other types of harmful content as well as nudity. Key to the targeting of such interventions is the differentiation of a child user of a device, which can be achieved through device-level age assurance to activate other safety interventions. The government will continue to consider options to go further in this respect.

Regarding the use, and restricted use, of devices while children are at school, Department for Education guidance (updated February 2026) is explicit that all schools should be mobile phone free environments by default, and that schools prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Furthermore, the government continually horizon scans to appraise new technological innovations which may enable better safeguarding of children online, and device usage in school. The government engages with industry regularly to stay abreast of promising products which could be applied to better safeguarding children.

The Prime Minister announced on 8 June that the UK will be the first country in the world where it will be impossible for any child in the UK to take share or view nude images. We will work with tech companies for three months to ensure that comprehensive nudity detection is implemented at operating system level, with adults able to switch it off by proving they are over-18 through age assurance. If industry does not meet our high expectations, then we will legislate.

The primary aim of this intervention is to disrupt grooming and sextortion pathways, to prevent exploitation of children as early as possible; and as an additional safety intervention to ensure that children cannot access pornographic material.

It is important that each user of a smartphone uses the device with their own operating system account. Such an account should be set up with nudity detection default-on, and only deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18. If a device is shared, parents/carers should make sure that default-on nudity detection protections are not deactivated if the device is likely to be used by a child. Parents/carers should also be mindful if their phone – which may have nudity detection deactivated – is picked up by a child. Risks such as this, amongst others, will rightly form part of the government's three-month engagement with tech companies to work through technical solutions to meet the government's objective.

While this intervention is specifically bounded to nudity detection which can be deactivated through age assurance to prove the user is over-18, the government will consider the benefits and risks of wider potential use cases for these technological innovations.

Device-level age assurance could have further applicability to other online age restrictions. The Prime Minister announced restrictions on social media services for under-16s, on 15 June - Social media to be banned for under-16s in landmark government move to give kids their childhood back - GOV.UK.

The government committed to learn lessons from Australia’s experience by introducing more highly effective age assurance (HEAA) measures to support compliance, making it far harder for children to bypass safeguards; and that Ofcom will conduct a rapid study on what is effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16.

Device-level age assurance can be more effective, convenient and privacy preserving for the user – including making it harder for users to circumvent restrictions via VPNs as can be done with platform level age checks. The government will continue to actively consider the extent to which device-level age assurance could be used to restrict access to age-gated services, such as social media and VPN services. The government’s announcement on 15 June 2026 did not include any explicit proposal to restrict or ban VPNs for under-16s, or universal screen time proposals.

We welcome measures that tech companies have already brought forward in this area – such as nudity detection already implemented by both Apple and Google. Apple introduced device-level age assurance in its iOS26.4 operating system update in March 2026, and expanded Communication Safety features to intervene when gore or violent content is detected on child accounts. These are constructive and welcome developments, which will protect children from other types of harmful content as well as nudity. Key to the targeting of such interventions is the differentiation of a child user of a device, which can be achieved through device-level age assurance to activate other safety interventions. The government will continue to consider options to go further in this respect.

Regarding the use, and restricted use, of devices while children are at school, Department for Education guidance (updated February 2026) is explicit that all schools should be mobile phone free environments by default, and that schools prohibit the use of mobile phones throughout the school day. Furthermore, the government continually horizon scans to appraise new technological innovations which may enable better safeguarding of children online, and device usage in school. The government engages with industry regularly to stay abreast of promising products which could be applied to better safeguarding children.

The government recognises the benefits of device-level protections and we are encouraged by industry developments which make smartphones safer for children.

On 8 June, we committed to working with operating system providers over the next three months so that Britain is the first country in the world to make it impossible for children to take, share and view naked pictures on devices.

Where evidence demonstrates that further action is necessary to protect children and the wider public, we will not hesitate to act.

My Lords, keeping children safe is a priority for this Government. Under the Online Safety Act, services must prevent all users encountering illegal abuse and harassment online. These duties are already in force. Services likely to be accessed by children must also protect them from content that is harmful to them, including bullying, abusive or hateful content. Ofcom recommends measures including ensuring that algorithms filter out such content, to make sure that children are protected from abusive online communications.

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for raising this profound issue. Ofcom’s codes go beyond current industry standards and practices. Under the Online Safety Act, companies cannot decline to take steps to protect children, including young girls, because it is too expensive or inconvenient. Protecting children is a priority. The Secretary of State has said that safety by design is one of the priorities in the statement of strategic priorities of this Government. Ofcom is required to consider those priorities in its approach to online safety regulation and will need to provide regular updates on how they are being delivered.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is concerned with strengthening child employment legislation. The department’s proposed measures will offer children greater opportunities for meaningful, suitable employment whilst ensuring it does not have a negative impact on their health, development and education. It will not change the length of time children are able to work per week, but it will provide greater flexibility on when those hours are taken.

The child employment measures in the Bill will work alongside, but are distinct from, existing legislation related to child performance. The current regulatory framework for child performance ensures that a licence must be obtained before children can take part in certain types of performance, both professional and amateur, and in paid sport and modelling. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding all children in their area and are therefore responsible for licensing. A licence will only be granted once the local authority is assured that the child’s education, health, and wellbeing will not suffer, and that the conditions of the licence will be observed.

The requirement in the Bill to introduce compulsory registers of children not in school in every local authority in England and Wales would include young performers if they were not on the school roll, if they were part of a flexi-schooling arrangement, or using unregistered alternative provision. The registers will support local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas and to take action if they are not receiving a safe or suitable education.

Both existing child performance regulation and the department’s proposed child employment measures in the Bill have children’s needs at their heart and seek to balance access to opportunities, safeguarding and a high-quality education.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is concerned with strengthening child employment legislation. The department’s proposed measures will offer children greater opportunities for meaningful, suitable employment whilst ensuring it does not have a negative impact on their health, development and education. It will not change the length of time children are able to work per week, but it will provide greater flexibility on when those hours are taken.

The child employment measures in the Bill will work alongside, but are distinct from, existing legislation related to child performance. The current regulatory framework for child performance ensures that a licence must be obtained before children can take part in certain types of performance, both professional and amateur, and in paid sport and modelling. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding all children in their area and are therefore responsible for licensing. A licence will only be granted once the local authority is assured that the child’s education, health, and wellbeing will not suffer, and that the conditions of the licence will be observed.

The requirement in the Bill to introduce compulsory registers of children not in school in every local authority in England and Wales would include young performers if they were not on the school roll, if they were part of a flexi-schooling arrangement, or using unregistered alternative provision. The registers will support local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas and to take action if they are not receiving a safe or suitable education.

Both existing child performance regulation and the department’s proposed child employment measures in the Bill have children’s needs at their heart and seek to balance access to opportunities, safeguarding and a high-quality education.

The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill is concerned with strengthening child employment legislation. The department’s proposed measures will offer children greater opportunities for meaningful, suitable employment whilst ensuring it does not have a negative impact on their health, development and education. It will not change the length of time children are able to work per week, but it will provide greater flexibility on when those hours are taken.

The child employment measures in the Bill will work alongside, but are distinct from, existing legislation related to child performance. The current regulatory framework for child performance ensures that a licence must be obtained before children can take part in certain types of performance, both professional and amateur, and in paid sport and modelling. Local authorities are responsible for safeguarding all children in their area and are therefore responsible for licensing. A licence will only be granted once the local authority is assured that the child’s education, health, and wellbeing will not suffer, and that the conditions of the licence will be observed.

The requirement in the Bill to introduce compulsory registers of children not in school in every local authority in England and Wales would include young performers if they were not on the school roll, if they were part of a flexi-schooling arrangement, or using unregistered alternative provision. The registers will support local authorities to identify all children not in school in their areas and to take action if they are not receiving a safe or suitable education.

Both existing child performance regulation and the department’s proposed child employment measures in the Bill have children’s needs at their heart and seek to balance access to opportunities, safeguarding and a high-quality education.

We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, including ensuring that vulnerable children can continue to attend education and childcare settings that are closed to the majority of children.

The vast majority of statutory duties remain unchanged. However, in light of the current pressures COVID-19 is bringing on social care services, and the risk of such pressures increasing, we have reviewed our regulations to allow some temporary and limited flexibility, to enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children in the most effective and safest way during the outbreak. Our starting point has been to make minimal changes to ensure the safe functioning of children’s social care during COVID-19.

Amendments have been made to provide for extra flexibility in some circumstances, but this should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management oversight, and must be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and welfare duties that remain in place. The amendments will remain in place only for so long as needed.

The duties of local authorities and providers to report their decision-making remains the same. Ofsted inspections continue where there are safeguarding concerns, and new Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) are working around the country to improve our understanding about the risks facing these children.

The REACTs are co-ordinating our work with local authorities, minimising the burden on the sector while we continue to support councils to deliver safe, effective services. Ofsted has redeployed HM Inspectors to provide on-the-ground, practical support to local authorities, and we have refocused the work of intervention commissioners and advisers to target support to local authorities in need.

The department continues working with a wide range of stakeholders and the sector to ensure the right support is available for frontline services during this crisis. The regulatory changes will be kept under continuous review and will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended.

We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, including ensuring that vulnerable children can continue to attend education and childcare settings that are closed to the majority of children.

The vast majority of statutory duties remain unchanged. However, in light of the current pressures COVID-19 is bringing on social care services, and the risk of such pressures increasing, we have reviewed our regulations to allow some temporary and limited flexibility, to enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children in the most effective and safest way during the outbreak. Our starting point has been to make minimal changes to ensure the safe functioning of children’s social care during COVID-19.

Amendments have been made to provide for extra flexibility in some circumstances, but this should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management oversight, and must be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and welfare duties that remain in place. The amendments will remain in place only for so long as needed.

The duties of local authorities and providers to report their decision-making remains the same. Ofsted inspections continue where there are safeguarding concerns, and new Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) are working around the country to improve our understanding about the risks facing these children.

The REACTs are co-ordinating our work with local authorities, minimising the burden on the sector while we continue to support councils to deliver safe, effective services. Ofsted has redeployed HM Inspectors to provide on-the-ground, practical support to local authorities, and we have refocused the work of intervention commissioners and advisers to target support to local authorities in need.

The department continues working with a wide range of stakeholders and the sector to ensure the right support is available for frontline services during this crisis. The regulatory changes will be kept under continuous review and will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended.

We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, including ensuring that vulnerable children can continue to attend education and childcare settings that are closed to the majority of children.

The vast majority of statutory duties remain unchanged. However, in light of the current pressures COVID-19 is bringing on social care services, and the risk of such pressures increasing, we have reviewed our regulations to allow some temporary and limited flexibility, to enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children in the most effective and safest way during the outbreak. Our starting point has been to make minimal changes to ensure the safe functioning of children’s social care during COVID-19.

Amendments have been made to provide for extra flexibility in some circumstances, but this should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management oversight, and must be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and welfare duties that remain in place. The amendments will remain in place only for so long as needed.

The duties of local authorities and providers to report their decision-making remains the same. Ofsted inspections continue where there are safeguarding concerns, and new Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) are working around the country to improve our understanding about the risks facing these children.

The REACTs are co-ordinating our work with local authorities, minimising the burden on the sector while we continue to support councils to deliver safe, effective services. Ofsted has redeployed HM Inspectors to provide on-the-ground, practical support to local authorities, and we have refocused the work of intervention commissioners and advisers to target support to local authorities in need.

The department continues working with a wide range of stakeholders and the sector to ensure the right support is available for frontline services during this crisis. The regulatory changes will be kept under continuous review and will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended.

We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, including ensuring that vulnerable children can continue to attend education and childcare settings that are closed to the majority of children.

The vast majority of statutory duties remain unchanged. However, in light of the current pressures COVID-19 is bringing on social care services, and the risk of such pressures increasing, we have reviewed our regulations to allow some temporary and limited flexibility, to enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children in the most effective and safest way during the outbreak. Our starting point has been to make minimal changes to ensure the safe functioning of children’s social care during COVID-19.

Amendments have been made to provide for extra flexibility in some circumstances, but this should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management oversight, and must be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and welfare duties that remain in place. The amendments will remain in place only for so long as needed.

The duties of local authorities and providers to report their decision-making remains the same. Ofsted inspections continue where there are safeguarding concerns, and new Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) are working around the country to improve our understanding about the risks facing these children.

The REACTs are co-ordinating our work with local authorities, minimising the burden on the sector while we continue to support councils to deliver safe, effective services. Ofsted has redeployed HM Inspectors to provide on-the-ground, practical support to local authorities, and we have refocused the work of intervention commissioners and advisers to target support to local authorities in need.

The department continues working with a wide range of stakeholders and the sector to ensure the right support is available for frontline services during this crisis. The regulatory changes will be kept under continuous review and will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended.

We have taken a number of steps to ensure the safety of vulnerable children during the COVID-19 outbreak, including ensuring that vulnerable children can continue to attend education and childcare settings that are closed to the majority of children.

The vast majority of statutory duties remain unchanged. However, in light of the current pressures COVID-19 is bringing on social care services, and the risk of such pressures increasing, we have reviewed our regulations to allow some temporary and limited flexibility, to enable children's services to continue to support vulnerable children in the most effective and safest way during the outbreak. Our starting point has been to make minimal changes to ensure the safe functioning of children’s social care during COVID-19.

Amendments have been made to provide for extra flexibility in some circumstances, but this should only be used when absolutely necessary, with senior management oversight, and must be consistent with the overarching safeguarding and welfare duties that remain in place. The amendments will remain in place only for so long as needed.

The duties of local authorities and providers to report their decision-making remains the same. Ofsted inspections continue where there are safeguarding concerns, and new Regional Education and Children’s Teams (REACTs) are working around the country to improve our understanding about the risks facing these children.

The REACTs are co-ordinating our work with local authorities, minimising the burden on the sector while we continue to support councils to deliver safe, effective services. Ofsted has redeployed HM Inspectors to provide on-the-ground, practical support to local authorities, and we have refocused the work of intervention commissioners and advisers to target support to local authorities in need.

The department continues working with a wide range of stakeholders and the sector to ensure the right support is available for frontline services during this crisis. The regulatory changes will be kept under continuous review and will expire on 25 September 2020 unless extended.

The school workforce is central to the country’s response to COVID-19 and we thank them wholeheartedly for their support at this difficult time.

It is important to underline that schools remain safe places. Reducing the number of children and staff making the journey to school and reducing the number of children and staff in educational settings will protect the NHS and save lives by reducing the risks of spreading the virus.

We have published guidance for school leaders and staff on COVID-19 infection prevention and control in educational settings, which is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19/guidance-to-educational-settings-about-covid-19.

Guidelines on implementing social distancing in schools are available at:
ttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings/coronavirus-covid-19-implementing-social-distancing-in-education-and-childcare-settings.

We have also published guidance on the actions for schools during the coronavirus outbreak which includes guidelines for school leaders on protecting the school workforce from COVID-19. This guidance is available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-school-closures/guidance-for-schools-about-temporarily-closing.

Additionally, the Government has expanded its testing scheme to all essential workers. This includes anyone involved in education, childcare or social work – including both public and voluntary sector workers, as well as foster carers. If they or anyone in their household have symptoms, they are now eligible for a test to confirm whether they have COVID-19, so that if they don’t, the critical worker is able to get back into the workplace.

These are rapidly developing circumstances. We continue to keep the situation under review and will keep Parliament updated accordingly.

My Lords, the UK Government work closely with the territories to promote the welfare of children in their jurisdictions, where the protection of children’s rights remains primarily the responsibility of territory Governments. There has been steady progress but more work is needed. In December, OT leaders committed to lead national responses and ensure child-centred, co-ordinated approaches to safeguarding. The UK Government continue to work with territory Governments on this important agenda.