We all like a bag of chips from time to time, but we also like to live a longer, healthier life. This is why Councillor Hazel Gloster and the Oldham Liberal Democrats want to ban Councils advertising fast food.
The Liberal Democrat policy concerns publicly owned poster sites, notices on any building owned by the Council and on Greater Manchester Tram/Bus Network property. The wider scope of this idea which will be brought to Oldham Council meeting on the 11th of September will seek to tackle the national problem of poor health and death caused by fatty and sugary foods.
This Liberal Democrat plan sets out to tackle Oldham Borough first.
Councillor Hazel Gloster stated that: “Eating large amounts of fast food and sugared drinks contributes massively to obesity, tooth decay, diabetes, stomach problems, sleep deprivation and sometimes death. It is the responsibility of those in government to present a modern image of a high health standard to the rest of the UK.”
Councillor Louie Hamblett, a fellow Liberal Democrat who will be seconding Councillor Hazel Gloster’s proposal says: “The Liberal Democrats want this to be a political domino. This will hopefully remove excessive temptation and give children and adults in the local area a chance to learn how to eat with reduced sugar and fat in their diets.”
“We want other local authorities and the UK government to follow suit in this change in the local law. Hopefully then will we tackle health setbacks such as heart disease, cancer and tooth decay.”
Copy of Motion to 11 September Council Meeting:
Ban on Fast Food and Energy Drinks Advertising
Council notes that:
- Fast food contains high levels of fat, salt and sugar and energy drinks often contain high levels of caffeine and sugar.
- The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health predicts half of all children in the UK will be overweight or obese by 2020.
- The Mayor of London banned all fast food advertising on publicly-controlled advertising spaces across London’s entire transport network.
- Sustain and Foodwatch recently published a report ‘Taking Down Junk Food Adverts’ which recommends that local authorities regulate adverts on public telephone boxes and that the Advertising Standards Authority should be able to regulate advertising outside nurseries, children’s centres, parks, family attractions and leisure centres.
As a local authority with a statutory responsibility for public health, Council believes that it should do all that is possible to discourage the consumption of fast food and energy drinks.
Council therefore resolves to:
- Ask the Chief Executive to write to the Chief Executive of Transport for Greater Manchester asking TFGM to impose a ban on the advertising of fast food and energy drinks on publicly owned poster sites etc across the Greater Manchester transport network.
- Ensure that fast food or energy drinks are not advertised on any hoarding or within any building owned by this Council including large advertisements on bus stops.
- Ensure that such products are not sold to children or young people on any of our premises.
- Ask our NHS, social housing, voluntary and private sector partners, including the Mayor of Greater Manchester, to make a similar undertaking.
- Ask the Chief Executive to write to the relevant minister requesting the recommendations of the ‘Taking Down Junk Food Adverts’ report be adopted as government policy as soon as possible; copying in our local Members of Parliament to seek their support.
Proposed by: Councillor Hazel Gloster. Seconded by: Councillor Louie Hamblett