Ban on junk food ads to go ahead, says council

The ban on unhealthy food adverts in certain places was approved in the Senedd earlier this year

A council in south Wales will go ahead with its plan to ban unhealthy food adverts in certain public spaces.

Vale of Glamorgan Council will become the first local authority in Wales to implement the ban.

It will also stop unhealthy foods from being marketed on the council's website.

Council leader Lis Burnett denied the local authority was telling people what to do through the ban.

"We are not telling people they can't buy this. We are not saying you can't eat it. We are just not going to put pictures of it everywhere," she added.

In March, the Senedd approved new regulations for restrictions placed on where retailers can display certain unhealthy foods in their shops and on their websites.

The new regulations, which will come into force in March 2026, will also affect foods which are high in sugar, fat and salt.

At the time Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said it would help "tackle Wales' growing obesity problem".

Vale of Glamorgan Council will become the first local authority in Wales to implement the ban

Vale of Glamorgan councillor Rhiannon Birch said many people were not aware of the unhealthy content of the food they were eating.

"We want to see that those people are better informed, better able to make choices and are not having these adverts thrown at them all the time," she added.

Councillor Ruba Sivagnanam said the policy would help the council to deliver on "objectives around health inequalities".

"We as a council have a values driven corporate plan. I think this is a demonstration of our values in action."

The rules were proposed in a consultation last year and mirror those introduced in England in 2022.