St Helens Borough Council Healthier Food Advertising Policy

This policy aims to enhance public health by banning advertisements for foods and beverages high in fat, sugar, salt or calories on council-owned advertising spaces and replacing them with promotions of healthier alternatives.

Approved on 19 March 2025, the policy responds to rising food-related ill health in St Helens and supports the council’s wider public health strategy. Developed in collaboration with Sustain, the alliance for better food and farming, using its Healthier Food Advertising Policy Toolkit, it joins similar initiatives led by other UK local authorities. As the twenty-second council to adopt such measures, St Helens contributes to a growing movement, aiming for a unified national approach to healthier advertising.

The policy is overseen by St Helens Borough Council, with cabinet approval reflecting its integration into public health and environmental sustainability strategies. The council retains enforcement authority and collaborates with partners to uphold advertising restrictions.

Implemented across all council-owned advertising platforms, the policy mandates the replacement of unhealthy product promotions with healthier alternatives. While specific local outcomes are pending, evidence from similar policies, such as Transport for London policy, indicates potential benefits including reduced sugar and calorie intake and improved public health outcomes with estimated lower cases in diet-related NCDs. The policy's adoption also aims to the broader regional goal of establishing Cheshire and Merseyside as the UK's first region with a unified healthier advertising strategy.

St Helens Borough Council: https://sthelens.gov.uk/article/12878/Council-moves-to-encourage-healthier-advertising-in-public-spaces Sustain article: https://www.sustainweb.org/news/mar25-sthelens-healthier-food-advertising-policy/