Ofcom Consultation Document: The Future Regulation of Broadcast Advertising
Response to consultation from Sustain: The alliance for better food and farming. January 2004
Overview of response
Relevant to Ofcom consultation questions 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11
We are not confident that Ofcom's 'The Future Regulation of Broadcast Advertising' proposals will deliver a robust and protective regulatory system. For the reasons detailed in this submission, we do not consider that moving towards a self-regulatory system is an appropriate means to ensure high levels of public protection. The most effective approach would be to maintain and strengthen the current statutory system which, as the Government appointed regulatory body, should be administered directly by Ofcom. We maintain that delegation of this statutory responsibility to an industry-orientated and funded body would reduce regulatory independence and is therefore wholly unacceptable.
The Advertising Association (AA) reports that the proposed self-regulatory system is “the result of intensive planning and discussions over many months by an Advertising Association Task Force of representatives from across broadcasting and advertising”. We trust that Ofcom is now embarking on a bona fide consultative process which will not result in a 'rubber stamping' of industry-forged proposals which have failed to incorporate issues of concern to public interest organisations and wider society.
Children's Food Campaign: Campaigning for policy changes so that all children can easily eat sustainable and healthy food.
