Council

Agenda Item 50   

Subject:                    Restricting unethical and carbon intensive advertising

Date of meeting:    24 October 2024

Proposer:                 Councillor Evans

Seconder:                Councillor Sheard

Ward(s) affected:   All

Notice of Motion

Labour Group Amendment

That deletions are made as shown with strikethrough below and additional recommendations are added as shown in bold italics below:

This Council notes:

1) Brighton & Hove currently restricts the advertising of High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) products on all council owned and managed advertising spaces across the city.

2) Some companies are getting around this such as by advertising other non-HFSS junk food, particularly sugar free sodas.

3) Our support for cities such as Sheffield that have adopted wider bans on their advertising. This includes carbon intensive products such as airlines, airports, fossil fuel powered cars and fossil fuel companies as well as HFSS and gambling advert bans.

4) The importance of prioritising climate action and the health and wellbeing of people within the city over financial profits of advertisers.

5) The need to limit wherever possible exposure to advertising for gambling, betting and cryptocurrency linked trading platforms.

6) An increase in advertising preying on the financially vulnerable as a result of the cost-of-living crises.

7) The Council can only directly influence advertising on Council properties and that national legislation change is needed to influence other advertising spaces in a local authority area.

Therefore, resolves to:

1)   Request Officers prepare a report to consider how the Council can implement an ethical advertising policy, to include estimates of potential loss of income streams.

2)   Request the report be presented to the Place Overview & Scrutiny for their consideration and any recommendations.

1) Request that Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee considers creating a Task & Finish group to define an ethical advertising policy to recommend for adoption by Cabinet.

2) Request that the CEO of BHCC writes to the Prime Minister to request action on national policy on ethical advertising in line with our position. In addition, to ask for changes to planning laws to allow local councils to have planning powers over new advertising sites.

Recommendations to read if carried:

This Council notes:

1) Brighton & Hove currently restricts the advertising of High Fat, Sugar, and Salt (HFSS) products on all council owned and managed advertising spaces across the city.

2) Some companies are getting around this such as by advertising other non-HFSS junk food, particularly sugar free sodas.

3) Our support for cities such as Sheffield that have adopted wider bans on their advertising. This includes carbon intensive products such as airlines, airports, fossil fuel powered cars and fossil fuel companies as well as HFSS and gambling advert bans.

4) The importance of prioritising climate action and the health and wellbeing of people within the city over financial profits of advertisers.

5) The need to limit wherever possible exposure to advertising for gambling, betting and cryptocurrency linked trading platforms.

6) An increase in advertising preying on the financially vulnerable as a result of the cost-of-living crises.

7) The Council can only directly influence advertising on Council properties and that national legislation change is needed to influence other advertising spaces in a local authority area.

Therefore, resolves to:

1)    Request Officers prepare a report to consider how the Council can implement an ethical advertising policy, to include estimates of potential loss of income streams.

2)   Request the report be presented to the Place Overview & Scrutiny for their consideration and any recommendations.