Ban on junk food ads before 9pm to come into force next year

A 9pm watershed on TV junk food advertising will come into force in October 2025, the government has confirmed.

This will come alongside a total ban on paid-for online advertising for junk food, under plans to tackle childhood obesity.

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The new rules deliver on a Labour manifesto commitment to implement the restrictions, with the timeline set out to “provide clarity” for businesses, health minister Andrew Gwynne said.

In a written ministerial statement confirming the plans, he said: “These restrictions will help protect children from being exposed to advertising of less healthy food and drinks, which evidence shows influences their dietary preferences from a young age.”

Boris Johnson committed to a ban on junk food advertising before 9pm in 2021 when he was prime minister, but the plan was delayed twice.

The Tories said they wanted to review the impact of the restrictions on consumers and businesses in light of the cost of living crisis, and the measures would come into force in October 2025.

Mr Gwynne confirmed Labour would stick to that timeline, saying: “This provides the clarity that businesses have been calling for and will support them to prepare for the restrictions coming into force across the UK on 1 October 2025.”

He said more than one in five children in England are overweight or living with obesity by the time they start primary school, and this rises to more than one third by the time they leave.

“We want to tackle the problem head-on on and that includes implementing the restrictions on junk food advertising on TV and online without further delay,” he said.

To get the plans in motion, Labour has published the previous government’s response to the 2022 consultation on the draft measures, which confirms the definitions for the products, businesses, and services in scope of the restrictions.

A four-week consultation will aim to clarify how the regulations will apply to Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which delivers TV live on the web.

Last year a survey found eight out of 10 adults support a ban on advertising unhealthy food to children on TV and online.

The British Heart Foundation wants the government to go further and expand the ban to things like billboards, radio advertising and sports sponsorship, alongside a package of measures such as a salt and sugar tax.

These are not part of Labour’s plans, though the manifesto did commit to banning the sale of energy drinks to under-16s.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has previously batted off “nany state” accusations, saying his party “won’t stand by while children become fatter”.

The new government’s ambition is to “raise the healthiest generation ever”, with a focus on prevention to help fix the NHS.