Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Government's Childhood Obesity Plan: Chapter 2, published in June 2018, whether the Government's consultation on introducing a 9pm watershed for TV advertising of products high in fat, salt or sugar will cover (a) whether such a policy should be implemented and (b) the timing of such a watershed.

Our ambition is to see further advertising restrictions applied which limit children’s exposure to high fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) food and drink advertising, incentivise reformulation, and ensure that the healthiest of products are advertised freely across all programming. We also want to put control back into parents’ hands by making it clearer for them when and where HFSS adverts can and cannot be shown, so that they can make the best choices for their children.

The consultation will explore options for implementing a 9pm watershed on TV advertising to ensure that any restrictions are proportionate, help to incentivise reformulation in line with the aims of the sugar and calorie reduction programmes, and consider a focus on those products that children consume and most contribute to the problem of childhood obesity.

Further details about the consultation will be available later this year.