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Television Advertising (Food) Bill [HL]

My Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Krebs, on his excellent maiden speech. He led the first-class work of the FSA on the issue we have been discussing today and, during his time at the agency, created a highly respected and effective organisation, working on improving food standards. On behalf of the whole House, we extend to him a very warm welcome. In thanking my noble friend Lady Thornton for raising this important subject, I pay tribute—as a number of other noble Lords have—to my noble friend Lady Morgan. This was her Private Member’s Bill but, unfortunately, she had to give it up when she became a Minister and pass it into the extremely capable hands of my noble friend Lady Thornton. The debate has been productive and extremely interesting on a complex matter about which the Government are concerned. I will lay out the wide range of measures the Government are putting in place to tackle the problem. The one thing we are all agreed upon is that the rise in childhood obesity and poor diet are two of the most significant public health issues for society. The Government have recognised the need for decisive action. While we all recognise that the primary responsibility for children’s diets lies with parents—a point made by other noble Lords—the Government are committed to helping families lead healthier and more active lives. A key element of our comprehensive approach to this issue is the commitment to changing the nature and balance of food promotion to children. That is why the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport wrote to Ofcom, asking it to review and toughen up the rules in this area. That work formed part of the Government’s public health White Paper, Choosing Health, which sets out our commitment to a wider range of measures to tackle obesity and improve diet, especially for children. In addition to Ofcom’s work, the Government have worked closely with industry on stronger controls for non-broadcast marketing, including the internet, to ensure a comprehensive approach across all media. The internet has not been covered today, but print advertising is migrating to it and much of it is unregulated. In April 2007, the ASA announced strengthened new rules across all non-broadcast food promotion to children. The focus of the Bill is food advertising on television. In response to the Secretary of State’s request, Ofcom undertook extensive research. No one would question the depth and breadth of that research, which highlighted that TV advertising has a modest direct effect on children’s food choices but also recognised that it is only one of the many influences at play. Ofcom therefore concluded that effective and proportionate regulation of broadcast advertising would be an important part of any overall strategy to address this issue. The Government’s position is that broadcast advertising is a part of the strategy, not a strategy in itself. As a result of a wide-ranging consultation, Ofcom announced significantly strengthened new rules earlier this year. Those rules have been touched on today, but I must repeat them. They use the Food Standards Agency’s nutrient profiling model and include a total ban on high-fat, -salt and -sugar food advertising in and around all children’s programming, on dedicated children’s channels and in programmes of particular appeal to children under 16. Ofcom also set out new rules on the content of advertisements targeted at primary school children. They ban the use of celebrities, characters licensed from third parties, promotional claims and health or nutrition claims. That was a substantial task, and the Government very much welcome these new rules, which should significantly reduce the exposure of children to HFSS advertising. Ofcom’s work has been the catalyst for companies to make significant changes to their food and promotion policies aimed at promoting healthier children’s diets, and we have heard about some of those initiatives today. The Walt Disney Company recently introduced new food guidelines giving parents and children healthier eating options. McDonald’s has been working on a range of measures to reduce the levels of salt, sugar and trans fats across its product range and to promote a greater understanding of nutritional content. The Government recognise, however, that concerns have been raised about whether Ofcom’s measures are strong enough, while others have suggested that the new rules go too far and impact adversely on the broadcasting sector. We have heard both those arguments this morning. As the independent regulator, Ofcom must always take account of the duties Parliament has placed on it to ensure any regulatory interventions it proposes are proportionate, appropriately targeted and soundly based on evidence of impact. Ofcom was therefore required to undertake an extensive regulatory impact assessment looking at the costs and benefits of all possible regulatory options, including an advertising ban before the 9 o’clock watershed. Based on that assessment, Ofcom concluded that such a ban would be disproportionate in its impact and would have a considerable effect on broadcasters, with an estimated reduction in revenue of over £200 million. That would be likely to affect broadcasters’ ability to invest in commissioning of all types of programming. We all agree that this is a very complex area. Ofcom has sought to strike a balance between the need to protect the health of our children while considering the impact on our broadcasting industries, in particular on children's television programming.