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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if he will make it his policy to (a) introduce a junk food advertising ban before 2023 and (b) expand that ban to cover junk food advertising on television, other broadcasting platforms and in public spaces.

The Government is legislating in the Health and Care Bill to introduce a restriction on paid-for advertising of food and drinks products high in fat, sugar or salt (HFSS) online and a 9pm watershed on TV. This watershed will also apply to all On-Demand Programme Services (ODPS) under the jurisdiction of the UK. ODPS that do not fall under the UK’s jurisdiction will be included in the online restriction of paid-for HFSS advertising. These measures will come into force simultaneously at the end of 2022. It is not the Government’s intention to legislate to restrict HFSS advertising in public spaces. This form of advertising is subject to advertising codes regulated by the Advertising Standards Authority which include restricting HFSS advertising in media directed at children under 16.