asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further steps they will take to reduce the exposure of young children to inappropriate television advertising. [HL923]

Under the Communications Act 2003 Ofcom has a statutory duty to protect children and the responsibility for the regulation of broadcast advertising.

More broadly, the Government have announced as part of the recently published Children's Plan that they will commission a new independent assessment of evidence relating to the impact on children of their changing commercial environment.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Further to the comments by Lord Evans of Temple Guiting on 8 June (Official Report, col. 1407) and the answer by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 29 November (Official Report, col. 1297) that “we need a ban on all high-fat, salty and sugary foods before the 9 pm watershed”, what evidence has led to this change in policy on a pre-watershed ban on television advertising of such foods. [HL948]

A large number of associations have called on the Government for a pre-9 pm watershed ban on the advertising of high fat, salt and sugar foods. Ofcom conducted a regulatory impact assessment and concluded that a pre-9 pm watershed ban would be disproportionate. Government policy in this area is continuously under review. We are monitoring the impact of current Ofcom regulations on advertising to children, and we have always been clear that if we do not see significant progress in the nature and balance of food promotion, then we will look again at how we can make faster progress as part of our drive to tackle obesity and promote healthier lifestyles.