MINISTERS are to seek a voluntary ban on the advertising of junk food to children in an attempt to defuse a government dispute over tackling obesity in Britain.

They also hope that the move will help to head off criticism from a committee of MPs, which will this week criticise the Government for doing too little to stem the rising levels of obesity.

The cross-party Parliamentary Health Committee has made a year-long study of the issue and will tell ministers in their report on Thursday that they have been too slow to tackle the nation’s unhealthy lifestyle.

Efforts made by individual ministers to address obesity have been hampered by a lack of “joined up” government, they will say.

Despite having had a Public Health Minister in place since 1997, the Government has only recently started to take the whole issue of diet and fitness seriously, and is divided over what action to take.

Pre-empting the attack from the MPs, John Reid, the Health Secretary, has won backing for a new Cabinet committee to be set up specifically to address the question of obesity. He will chair the committee, which will bring together ministers from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Transport, Education and Local Government, who all have responsibilities in this area.

The new Cabinet committee will also seek to try to formalise plans on the advertising of junk food.

Dr Reid believes in giving adults an “informed choice” over what they eat by making sure they have as much information as the they need to make a proper decision over their diet.

However, he feels that children are a different case and that there is a strong argument for limiting the amount of television advertising for crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks they are subjected to during peak viewing hours.

Tessa Jowell, the Culture Secretary, who is responsible for the advertising industry, is less convinced that banning advertisements will achieve a step change in children’s eating habits. She believes the answer lies in getting children to exercise more, although that would be more costly to the Government in terms of setting up sports facilities and training adults to oversee games and exercise classes. However, a voluntary ban negotiated with the advertising industry is now being discussed as a compromise. Officials say that they would prefer to explore what could be done without resort to new legislation and regulation.

“The advertising industry is extremely responsible and has responded well in the past to suggestions from the Government,” one Whitehall official said. “It makes sense to see what can be agreed on voluntarily without resorting to the law.”

The Food Standards Agency is conducting a study into the advertising of junk food; Of- com, the new media regulator, is consulting on changes to the code of conduct that governs the advertising industry.

These two studies will feed into the White Paper.

Ministers are also expected to include proposals for more comprehensive food labelling in the document. They have said the response of the food industry to a request to cut the levels of salt, sugar and fat have been disappointing.

Manufacturers have been told that they may soon have to label pre-prepared food “high in salt” as a warning to consumers.

The Government’s final verdict on advertising junk food is unlikely to be made public until it publishes a White Paper on public health in the summer.

Ministers do not intend to challenge the health committee over its conclusions that it has been slow to act on obesity. They will acknowledge that the first term was taken up with reducing waiting lists for operations and NHS reforms.

However, fresh impetus has been given to public health by the Treasury’s funding report on the NHS conducted by Derek Wanless, a former banker.

He has emphasised the importance of encouraging healthier lifestyles for the funding of the NHS.

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