As the consultation on the TV advertising of food and drink products to children closes, Ofcom finds itself in an odd position, its email inbox stuffed with campaign-generated messages from ‘concerned parent, Cambridgeshire’, and hundreds like her, together with submissions from national charities, professional bodies and medical professionals supporting tough restrictions on such advertising. How can it possibly weigh these in the balance against numerically smaller, but commercially powerful responses from the affected industries? And if it is not seen to give the campaign responses fair treatment, what will that do to its reputation for consultation?

The voluntary sector coalition Public Voice, which I co-ordinate, and which has not taken a position on the right advertising option to pursue, has made a suggestion that Ofcom should appoint experienced an independent consultant to analyse, evaluate and report on the consultation responses, and publish their report. This would take the burden away from Ofcom itself, while any other approach will only generate further strife.