Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026

71 Progress statement

(1) The Secretary of State must, before the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which this Act is passed, lay before Parliament a statement setting out—

(a) what progress has been made towards making the first regulations under section 214A(1) of the Online Safety Act 2023 (inserted by section 70 of this Act) (“the first regulations”), and

(b) a timeline for making the first regulations.

(2) The timeline must provide for the first regulations to be laid before Parliament before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the day on which the statement is laid under subsection (1).

(3) The duty in subsection (1) does not apply where the first regulations have been made before the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1).

(4) If the first regulations have not been laid before Parliament before the end of the period mentioned in subsection (2)—

(a) the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a statement explaining why, and

(b) before the end of the period of six months beginning with the day on which the statement under paragraph (a) is laid, the Secretary of State must lay the first regulations before Parliament.

(5) References in this section to the laying before Parliament of the first regulations are to the laying before Parliament of a draft of a statutory instrument containing the first regulations.