Last week marked the Government’s first step towards delivering on their manifesto commitments around public health, with the announcement that they are taking action to curb junk food advertising, including a total ban on paid-for online adverts and a 9pm watershed on TV.

This has been some years in the making. Originally announced in 2018, previous governments consulted on the restrictions in 2019 and 2020, gave a deadline for implementation of January 2023, and swiftly announced a delayed implementation in October 2025.

In a written statement to the House of Commons on 12 September, the Minister for Public Health and Prevention Andrew Gwynne committed to the October 2025 deadline and announced the government’s response to the consultation on the draft regulations, which clearly sets out definitions of the types of products that will be in scope of these restrictions.

The scope has been an area of contention for some time, contributing to the unnecessary delays in implementing the restrictions. Industry tropes include that the restrictions will stop a range of foods being advertised, such as avocados, olive oil and houmous.

Yet the Government has been clear from the outset that the restrictions would only cover unhealthy, processed food and drinks, high in fat, salt and sugar. What’s more, a very lenient threshold has been set so that products with less fat, salt and sugar, and a bit more fibre, vegetables and protein can still be advertised. In fact, research from Cancer Research UK back in 2021 found that the majority (80%) of companies selling products that are high in fat, salt and sugar have healthier products in their portfolios that could be advertised instead, no need to wait until October next year.

Gwynne’s statement was clear that the time for debate is over: "This is a key milestone which confirms the definitions for the products, businesses and services in scope of the restrictions. 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."

While the Government has shown leadership in staying true to their commitments, there will still be shouts of ‘nanny state!’ and claims that these restrictions will in some way restrict choice (rather than simply incentivising healthier products to be advertised too). On those points, I will gladly point to The Food Conversation and the views of many of the participants involved.

We’re still taking The Food Conversation across the UK, but citizens involved so far have told us that they are concerned by the amount of unhealthy food advertising they see around them.

It's these companies which will throw millions into advertising, which is shaping the way people are perceiving food. When you go into Tesco's or whichever supermarket, you can see the advertising being funnelled at you from every which way. More often than not, there's nothing there for fresh apples or for fresh fruit and veg.” – participant from South Wales

Some citizens have said they think it is influential but misleading, in that it isn’t telling them about the nutrition make-up of the products. Some go as far as to say that the advertising is aggressive and everywhere.

“And the public, even if they want to try and do the right thing, if they’re trying to bring up their children in a healthy way, the advertising is so misleading” – participant from North Wales

They think that the food companies behind the advertising should be taking some responsibility and using different practices that don’t feature their unhealthy products, but they don’t think companies will actually do that voluntarily because they don’t think companies hold their health as a main priority. A consistent call to action from citizens from the locations we’ve visited already is restrictions on advertising, supported by regulation:

“There’s not enough regulation on junk food and there’s not enough restriction on junk food advertising” – participant from Croydon

And its not just citizens who agree with the need for these restrictions. Our Hope Farm work, involving leaders from progressive businesses, farming, civil society and research, has set out calls to government and businesses to act for a fairer, greener and healthier food system. One of the core recommendations of this work includes implementation of the existing regulations (i.e. those due to come into place in 2025) on unhealthy food advertising – see more about the companies who signed the Hope Farm Statement here.

The Government in this case has met the ambitions of citizens and progressive businesses, and we welcome it. But as Lord Darzi’s damning view of the state of the NHS laid bare the need for prevention, not treatment, the UK needs many more practical and radical solutions. And if the Government needs support in identifying the other steps, I can only suggest that they turn to the citizens of the UK and progressive businesses who are ready and waiting for their views to be heard.