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

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the number of television advertising slots there have been on UK free to view television in the most recent year for which data is available, and (2) of the trend in the number of such advertisements over the previous 10 years.

Ofcom is the independent regulatory body responsible for overseeing the amount and scheduling of adverts on UK licensed broadcast television. It is the responsibility of Ofcom to make any assessment in relation to the number of television advertising slots on UK free to view television or any related trends over the years.

Under section 322 of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom requires licensed television broadcasters to observe a set limit on the amount of advertising they show. The number of internal advertising slots permitted on public service channels depends on the genre and scheduled duration of the specific programme. The total amount of advertising on ITV 1, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and STV must not exceed an average of seven minutes per hour of broadcasting in any one day, or an average of 8 minutes per hour between 6.00 and 11.00 p.m. For other broadcasters, the total amount of advertising in any one day must not exceed an average of nine minutes per hour of broadcasting. This may be increased by a further three minutes per hour devoted to teleshopping spots.

Ofcom’s Code on the Scheduling of Television Advertising (COSTA) sets out the rules with which licensed television broadcasters must comply when displaying adverts. If a broadcaster does not comply with these requirements, they can be found in breach of their licence.