The guidance note follows similar policies adopted by Bristol City Council and several London Boroughs. It will restrict the advertising of HFSS products on all council-owned or leased advertising sites.
The note has been developed with support from the food charity Sustain, who advised the Mayor of London’s team on the TfL policy and has been working with over 80 local authorities across the country to introduce local healthier advertising policies.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine research showed that a similar policy on the Transport for London (TfL) network worked well. There was an estimated 6.7% decrease in average weekly household purchases of energy from HFSS products, and the average weekly purchases of chocolate and sweets fell by 19.4%.
Julia Burrows, director of Public Health, said: “We want everyone in Barnsley to have the best possible chance of enjoying life in good physical and mental health. This guidance note is just one element of what we’re doing to make it easier to be healthy.
“We’re working with businesses who already advertise with us and will work collaboratively with any future businesses to make sure they can advertise healthy food and drink with us. We’re hoping this will be the first step in other organisations in Barnsley adopting a similar policy."