Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of introducing additional regulations on the advertisement of food and drink (a) outdoors and (b) on other media platforms.

My Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care discusses a range of diet and obesity-related issues with Government colleagues. Supporting people to stay healthier for longer is at the heart of the Government’s Health Mission, which aims to reduce the amount of time spent in ill health, tackle health inequalities, and drive economic growth. This includes taking bold action to tackle the childhood obesity crisis and create the healthiest generation of children ever.

The Government has committed to banning junk food advertising to children. The regulations introduce a 9:00pm watershed for the advertisement of less healthy food or drink products on television, and a total restriction of paid-for advertising of these products online.

The Government welcomes the recent action that has been taken at local level to ban junk food advertising across public transport networks and public spaces that are controlled by local authorities.