To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent assessment his Department has made of the effects on the development of children of the advertisement of (a) food and (b) non-food products. (300665)

In the Children’s Plan we made a commitment to commission an independent assessment of the impact of the commercial world on young people.

Subsequently, the Secretary of State announced that Professor David Buckingham, Professor of Education at the Institute of Education, would lead the assessment and that it would be conducted by a panel of independent experts.

Having conducted an extensive review of the available evidence, and having spoken to stakeholders representing the broad spectrum of opinion on this subject, Professor Buckingham and his team have now completed the assessment. I expect it to be published in the next few weeks.