Councils need more planning powers to be able to limit junk food billboard adverts near schools, according to a new report calling for a joined-up approach to tackle childhood obesity.

The Commons Health and Social Care Committee also wants more to be done to tackle obesity risks in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, including setting breastfeeding targets.

It has called on the government to deal with widening health inequality between obesity rates in children growing up in the richest and poorest areas.

The MPs’ report published today makes a series of recommendations for the government before it publishes an updated version of its childhood obesity plan.

It follows figures revealed yesterday, which warned that 22,000 children were leaving primary school severely obese.

Today’s report says local authorities need to be allowed to limit the “proliferation of unhealthy food outlets in their areas and the prevalence of HFSS (high fat, sugar and salt food) and drink billboard advertising near schools”.

It adds: “Existing powers are not sufficient and we again call for health to be made an objective within the planning system in order to give local authorities the tools they need to make effective changes at local level.”

MPs are also calling for a 9pm watershed on junk food advertising and says there needs to be a ban on brand generated characters or licensed TV and film characters being used to promote HFSS products on broadcast and other media.

Other recommendations for the government in the report include:

• Regulating and restricting discounting and price promotions.
• Ensure retailers remove sweets and other unhealthy foods from the end of shop aisles and at check outs.
• Extending the sugar drinks levy to milk drinks.
• Improve calorie labelling on the out-of-home food sector.
• Ensure robust systems are in place to identify and support children who are overweight or obese.

The government produced a childhood obesity plan in 2016. At the time campaigners criticised the lack of curbs on junk-food advertising in it.

Committee chairman Sarah Wollaston MP said: “Children are becoming obese at an earlier age and staying obese for longer.

“Obesity rates are highest for children from the most disadvantaged communities and this unacceptable health inequality has widened every year since records began.

“The consequences for these children are appalling and this can no longer be ignored.

“We want to see a whole systems approach and for local authorities to be given the powers they need to reduce childhood obesity in their communities. Health needs to be made an objective within the planning and licensing system.

“The government needs to further help reduce childhood obesity by introducing tougher restrictions on the marketing and advertising of junk food, including by bringing in a 9pm advertising watershed. It should also act to protect children by banning the offers and displays that push high volume sales and impulse buying of junk food and drink.”

The Department for Health and Social Care has been approached for a comment.