Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will discuss with Ofcom potential steps to reduce the sexualisation of children in television (a) advertisements and (b) programmes.

Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code includes rules intended to protect the welfare and the dignity of people under eighteen who take part or are otherwise involved in programmes. Revisions to the Code are a matter for Ofcom as the independent regulator.

The Advertising Standards Authority co-regulates broadcast advertising under contract with Ofcom and its sister organisation, the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice, sets the advertising codes. The codes require that advertisements must not portray or represent children in a sexual way and care must be taken when scheduling advertisements in or around children's programmes or programmes likely to be seen by significant numbers of children.