MP blasts ITC for not backing kids’ ads ban

Labour MP Debra Shipley, who recently called for a ban on food and drink advertising during pre-school children’s TV programmes and scheduling, has slammed the Independent Television Commission (ITC) for not supporting her move.

The ten-minute rule bill, proposed last year, was dropped last week because of “lack of parliamentary time” according to the MP. Advertisers, however, insist that the bill was withdrawn because of “insufficient support”.

The Incorporated Society of British Advertisers (ISBA) opposed the proposal, saying that existing rules on children’s advertising for both broadcast and non-broadcast media are stringent enough (MW May 8).

Shipley says: “Food and drinks advertisers are opposing the proposal for obvious reasons, but what surprises me is that regulators such as ITC are not supporting the move.” She plans to reintroduce the bill.

A spokeswoman for the ITC says: “As a regulator, we have always made sure that advertising is done in a responsible way and stringent rules about advertising to children are in place.”