A new public consultation asks people for their views on ways to reduce the number of adverts for foods high in fat, sugar and salt that children are exposed to.

The consultation sets out proposals to tighten advertising restrictions. The restrictions will limit children’s exposure across the media they engage with most, as part of efforts to tackle childhood obesity.

The restrictions being considered include a 9pm watershed ban on TV, online streaming sites and social media. The restrictions have been designed with a view to encourage industry to develop healthier alternatives.

Data shows children are spending many hours each week watching television and an increasing amount of time online.

Adverts for sugary and fatty foods are more commonly shown than any other category. In 2017, it is estimated that children were exposed to more than 700 million online adverts for foods high in fat, sugar or salt and almost 3.6 billion TV adverts.

Exposure levels on TV have fallen significantly since restrictions around children’s programmes were introduced 10 years ago, but there remains a significant amount of exposure.

Evidence suggests advertising can affect what and when children eat, both just after seeing an advert and in the longer term by shaping children’s food preferences from a young age. This has the potential to affect their likelihood to become or remain overweight as adults.

The proposals would target foods that contribute most to children’s intake of calories. The restrictions would not apply to everyday staples like butter, oil or meat.

As part of the consultation, the government will consider the impact that further advertising restrictions may have on business, particularly broadcasters.

Currently, one in 3 children are overweight or obese and the number of severely obese children is on the rise. The proposals are part of a series of measures that will support the NHS Long Term Plan and help to halve childhood obesity by 2030.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

We often talk about internet safety and how social media can affect our children’s mental health and we are rightly taking action to address that. But what about their physical health? I want my children to grow up knowing what a balanced diet looks like – but their perception of what is healthy can get skewed when the vast majority of adverts they see on screen are for sugary snacks and fast food.

We know these adverts are shown on TV during prime family viewing time, and the evidence suggests this is increasingly being mirrored online too. With a scant 1% of adverts for fruit and vegetables, it’s clear there is plenty of room to balance things out. We led the world with our soft drinks levy and today we are proposing to take similar world-first action – for the good of our children’s health.

Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary of State Jeremy Wright said:

We know that childhood obesity is one of the biggest health problems that our country faces. With children spending more time online it’s vital that we look at all options to help us take action and improve the health of the nation.

The UK already has some of the toughest advertising restrictions in the world, but it is only right that we explore the impact that further action on TV and online advertising for products that are high in fat, salt or sugar will have on childhood obesity.

Steve Brine, Public Health Minister, said:

It is not right that our children are mainly exposed to adverts promoting foods high in fat, sugar and salt. Small amounts of excess calories every day over a long time causes obesity. But the evidence is clear that there is no one solution so our plan is about pulling together all the pieces of the jigsaw and tackling childhood obesity from all possible angles.

In fact, the NHS is already preparing to treat more and more children for the serious effects of extreme obesity in the future – so we surely have a duty to address the underlying cause. This isn’t about banning everyday staples like butter and olive oil, it’s about reducing children’s exposure to those products that have little nutritional value but that are part of a wider climate that is driving childhood obesity.

The loan from the government’s housing delivery agency will help to redevelop the Craylands Estate, renamed as Beechwood Village, and the Laindon Shopping Centre, which will become Laindon Place.

More than 550 new homes are being built at the Beechwood site, including up to 110 affordable homes, whilst 210 homes and over 7,000 sq m of commercial space will be developed at Laindon.

The funding will allow Swan Housing Association, who are working in partnership with Basildon Borough Council, to develop both schemes at the same time, enabling the final three phases of regeneration at Beechwood Village and new homes at Laindon shopping centre to be completed more quickly.

When completed, Laindon Place will include a new high street with shops, a supermarket, and a new health centre. The new homes to be built at Beechwood Village will be in addition to more than 400 homes, retail units and community centre completed in earlier phases.

Homes England has agreed the loan as part of its £290 million Estates Regeneration Fund, which offers finance to kick-start and accelerate the regeneration of estates.

Almost all the homes will be built off site at Swan’s factory in Basildon, using pre-manufactured modular construction techniques.

Minister of State for Housing, Kit Malthouse MP, said:

“This funding not only supports more than 760 much-needed new homes, but further strengthens a community that residents can be proud of through new commercial and civic spaces for the people of Basildon.

“It’s all part of how this Government is supporting the delivery 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, helping a new generation to realise the dream of home ownership.”

Sir Edward Lister, Chairman of Homes England said: “The Beechwood Village and Laindon Place regeneration projects are key priorities for Basildon and we’ve worked closely with Swan Housing Association to ensure the new homes local people need can become a reality.”

“Homes England strongly supports the use of modern methods of construction (MMC) as a means of delivering good quality homes at pace, so it’s great to see these methods being used to build better homes faster in Basildon.”

It’s anticipated that work at both sites will be completed by autumn 2024.

Geoff Pearce, Executive Director – Regeneration and Development of Swan Housing Association, said:

“Swan Housing Association and our long-term partner, Basildon Borough Council, are delighted to receive this funding boost from Homes England. It will enable us to build much needed high-quality homes, more quickly, at both Beechwood Village and Laindon Place. These homes will be built both using our state-of-the-art modular factory in Basildon and by traditional methods of construction. This partnership helps Swan towards our ambitious target of building an additional 10,000 homes by 2027 and Basildon towards its strategic growth goals for the Borough.”

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For more information contact Sarah Foulkes, Communications Officer at Homes England. Tel: 0161 200 6130/ 07967 782 162 or email sarah.foulkes@homesengland.gov.uk

More than 760 new homes and almost 8,000 square metres of retail and commercial space are being built in Basildon following a £30 million funding boost from Homes England.

Millions of workers could eventually benefit from better retirement savings when a new type of pension scheme is introduced to the market, under pioneering proposals rubber-stamped by the Work and Pensions Secretary today.

Amber Rudd backed plans for the first Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) scheme in the UK after the pensions industry, insurers and other bodies welcomed the move proposed by Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU).

Work and Pensions Secretary Amber Rudd said:

Introducing a completely new pension scheme to the market is yet another revolutionary reform in this government’s quest to transform the retirement saving culture in this country.

These pioneering proposals should deliver improved investment returns for workers and savers while cutting costs and red tape for British job creators.

The new type of pension is currently used in Denmark and the Netherlands – 2 countries widely recognised as having among the best pension systems in the world.

Any steps that result in better saving returns for workers are something to celebrate and I look forward to working with industry to enhance the prospects of millions of workers.

The benefits of CDCs are clear. Members get more certainty in their retirement, with regular pay-outs from their scheme. And unlike traditional final salary pension schemes, those pay-outs aren’t affected if your employer goes under.

CDC pension schemes offer a regular retirement income by allowing group contributions to be pooled together and invested to give members of the scheme a higher final benefit level.

It also means much better long-term protections for members because risk is shared.

The new schemes are expected to appeal to companies who want to offer strong pensions provisions to employees without having to hang on to enormous pension liabilities.

The government has worked closely with Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to develop the proposals which went out to consultation in November.

Jon Millidge, Chief Risk and Governance Officer, Royal Mail, said:

This is very welcome progress. Royal Mail and CWU have been campaigning together to bring about this legislation, building a cross-party alliance of supporters in both Houses of Parliament as well as working with government.

We now look ahead to the next stage, and ultimately, delivering the UK’s first CDC pension.

Terry Pullinger, CWU Deputy General Secretary Postal, said:

The response to the consultation on these proposals, and the degree of support from many key players, confirms our belief that the pensions industry is in genuine need of scheme innovation.

We are very proud and ready to be at the forefront of this historic moment which we believe will make a major contribution to offering future dignity and security in retirement for decent working people.

Many of the more than 70 contributors to the consultation on CDCs urged the government to make the new type of scheme widely available, including through multi-employer pensions and those run by commercial Master Trusts – potentially reaching millions of retirement savers.

The government has worked closely with Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to develop the proposals which went out to consultation in November.

The consultation response, due to be published today (Monday 18 March), confirms primary legislation will be brought forward to introduce CDCs as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Protections will be built into the system to ensure fairness for both younger and older CDC pension scheme members, the consultation response asserts. Trustees of CDCs will be required to spell out the potential for fluctuations in pay-outs – depending on investment performance – to members at the outset.

The latest innovation builds on the success of automatic enrolment, which has brought more than 10 million people into workplace pensions since 2012, and the government’s backing of industry to deliver pensions dashboards – capturing all someone’s retirement savings information in one place.

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Amber Rudd backed plans for the first Collective Defined Contribution (CDC) scheme in the UK.