We are calling on the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, to put an end to the bombardment of young people by junk food companies once and for all. And we need your support to add power to our voices.

The long awaited restrictions on junk food ads online, and on TV before 9pm are finally in place. The protections are a step in the right direction, but they’re not strong enough.

Our award-winning campaign to give young people a #CommercialBreak from junk food ads saw us take over huge billboards in London and show up in the boardrooms of global food giants. We even took the message to the halls of Parliament! But our billboard was rejected by the UK’s biggest outdoor advertisers, censoring the voices of young people.

Pushing junk food ads off screens will just pull them onto streets. We already have evidence that giant food companies are shifting more of their money into advertising junk food on our streets instead of online. Our voices are being silenced when we speak up, so we need the Government to step in and protect children’s health.

Email your MP today and ask them to write to Wes Streeting. We’re calling on him to extend the junk food ad restrictions to all outdoor spaces — to protect the health of every child, no matter where they live.

I am a constituent of yours and am concerned about the proliferation of predatory junk food advertising targeting young people in our communities.

Have you heard of Bite Back? They are a movement of young people campaigning to change the way unhealthy food is made, marketed and sold – especially to children. Co-founded by Jamie Oliver in 2019, they have built a movement of 100 youth board members and over 12,000 students across 200 schools and communities nationwide, fighting for change. These passionate advocates deserve to have their voices heard at the highest levels of government.

While the Government has now finally implemented the long-delayed ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, I believe that this vital first step must not mark the end of action on this issue. And I’m not alone: recent polling from Bite Back found that two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

I support Bite Back’s ask to extend these regulations to outdoor advertising. Children should be protected from junk food marketing both on screens and on our streets.

This is a very important issue to me, and I’d really value you writing to the Secretary of State to raise this issue on my behalf. I include a draft letter below if this helps in doing so —

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Dear Wes,

I am writing following contact from people in my constituency who have raised their concerns about the saturation of predatory junk food advertising in our communities. Young people are rightly frustrated by the bombardment of unhealthy food marketing they face daily.

While I strongly welcome the implementation of the long-awaited ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, my constituents are clear that this vital first step must not mark the end of our action. Research from Bite Back reveals both the alarming extent of outdoor junk food advertising targeting young people, and the level of public support for further action:

- 57% of outdoor food and drink adverts feature at least one HFSS product (high in fat, salt or sugar)

- Young people in the most deprived areas face 6 times more HFSS advertising than those in the most affluent areas

- Two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

Our manifesto commitment to create "the healthiest generation of children ever" requires comprehensive action. As you rightly said, by “cruelly targeting kids” big food companies are robbing young people of the best start in life while costing our NHS billions. Without extending restrictions to outdoor advertising, companies are simply shifting their predatory marketing budgets from TV to billboards and bus stops, and undermining our Government’s strong work on this agenda to date.

The Food Foundation found that outdoor advertising spend by food companies increased by 28% between 2021 and 2024, which followed the government’s announcement in July 2020 of the forthcoming ban on TV and online advertising.

I therefore urge you to extend HFSS marketing restrictions to outdoor advertising, preventing displacement and ensuring comprehensive protection for children's health.

I look forward to your response and to working together to deliver meaningful change for young people across the country.

Yours sincerely,

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I would be grateful if you could confirm that you are writing to the Secretary of State. Please send your letter to mb-sofs@dhsc.gov.uk, including christopher.booth@biteback2030.com in your response.

I am a constituent of yours and am concerned about the proliferation of predatory junk food advertising targeting young people in our communities.

Have you heard of Bite Back? They are a movement of young people campaigning to change the way unhealthy food is made, marketed and sold – especially to children. Co-founded by Jamie Oliver in 2019, they have built a movement of 100 youth board members and over 12,000 students across 200 schools and communities nationwide, fighting for change. These passionate advocates deserve to have their voices heard at the highest levels of government.

While the Government has now finally implemented the long-delayed ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, I believe that this vital first step must not mark the end of action on this issue. And I’m not alone: recent polling from Bite Back found that two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

I support Bite Back’s ask to extend these regulations to outdoor advertising. Children should be protected from junk food marketing both on screens and on our streets.

This is a very important issue to me, and I’d really value you writing to the Secretary of State to raise this issue on my behalf. I include a draft letter below if this helps in doing so —

----------------------------------------

Dear Secretary of State,

I am writing following contact from people in my constituency who have raised their concerns about the saturation of predatory junk food advertising in our communities. Young people are rightly frustrated by the bombardment of unhealthy food marketing they face daily.

While the Government has implemented the long-awaited ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, my constituents are clear that this does not go far enough. Research from Bite Back reveals both the alarming extent of outdoor junk food advertising targeting young people, and the level of public support for further action:

- 57% of outdoor food and drink adverts feature at least one HFSS product (high in fat, salt or sugar)

- Young people in the most deprived areas face 6 times more HFSS advertising than those in the most affluent areas

- Two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

During a childhood obesity crisis where over a third of children leave primary school at risk of diet-related ill health, this represents a profound failure to protect our young people. The evidence shows that without comprehensive action, marketing restrictions in one medium simply drive displacement to others.

The Food Foundation found that outdoor advertising spend by food companies increased by 28% between 2021 and 2024, which followed the government’s announcement in July 2020 of the forthcoming ban on TV and online advertising.

I therefore call on the Government to extend HFSS marketing restrictions to outdoor advertising, preventing displacement and ensuring comprehensive protection for children's health.

I look forward to your response and to seeing swift action to protect children from predatory marketing practices.

Yours sincerely,

----------------------------------------

I would be grateful if you could confirm that you are writing to the Secretary of State. Please send your letter to mb-sofs@dhsc.gov.uk, including christopher.booth@biteback2030.com in your response.

I am a constituent of yours and am concerned about the proliferation of predatory junk food advertising targeting young people in our communities.

Have you heard of Bite Back? They are a movement of young people campaigning to change the way unhealthy food is made, marketed and sold – especially to children. Co-founded by Jamie Oliver in 2019, they have built a movement of 100 youth board members and over 12,000 students across 200 schools and communities nationwide, fighting for change. These passionate advocates deserve to have their voices heard at the highest levels of government.

While the Government has now finally implemented the long-delayed ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, I believe that this vital first step must not mark the end of action on this issue. And I’m not alone: recent polling from Bite Back found that two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

I support Bite Back’s ask to extend these regulations to outdoor advertising. Children should be protected from junk food marketing both on screens and on our streets.

This is a very important issue to me, and I’d really value you writing to the Secretary of State to raise this issue on my behalf. I include a draft letter below if this helps in doing so —

----------------------------------------

Dear Wes,

I am writing following contact from people in my constituency who have raised their concerns about the saturation of predatory junk food advertising in our communities. Young people are rightly frustrated by the bombardment of unhealthy food marketing they face daily.

While I strongly welcome the implementation of the long-awaited ban on junk food advertising on TV before 9 pm and online at any time, my constituents are clear that this vital first step must not mark the end of our action. Research from Bite Back reveals both the alarming extent of outdoor junk food advertising targeting young people, and the level of public support for further action:

- 57% of outdoor food and drink adverts feature at least one HFSS product (high in fat, salt or sugar)

- Young people in the most deprived areas face 6 times more HFSS advertising than those in the most affluent areas

- Two thirds of the public think it is unacceptable for food companies to advertise junk food directly to children.

Our manifesto commitment to create "the healthiest generation of children ever" requires comprehensive action. As you rightly said, by “cruelly targeting kids” big food companies are robbing young people of the best start in life while costing our NHS billions. Without extending restrictions to outdoor advertising, companies are simply shifting their predatory marketing budgets from TV to billboards and bus stops, and undermining our Government’s strong work on this agenda to date.

The Food Foundation found that outdoor advertising spend by food companies increased by 28% between 2021 and 2024, which followed the government’s announcement in July 2020 of the forthcoming ban on TV and online advertising.

I therefore urge you to extend HFSS marketing restrictions to outdoor advertising, preventing displacement and ensuring comprehensive protection for children's health.

I look forward to your response and to working together to deliver meaningful change for young people across the country.

Yours sincerely,

----------------------------------------

I would be grateful if you could confirm that you are writing to the Secretary of State. Please send your letter to mb-sofs@dhsc.gov.uk, including christopher.booth@biteback2030.com in your response.