§ Lord Sefton of Garstonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the regulations controlling advertisements on television forbid the appearance during a programme of advertisements which are related to that programme and, if so, whether they intend to instruct the IBA to prevent ITV from showing similar advertising to that broadcast during the showing of "The British Connection" on 15th January.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Elton)The broadcasting Act requires the IBA to ensure that all advertisements in its services are clearly distinguishable as such and recognisably separate from the rest of the programmes. There is, however, nothing in the Act or the IBA's code of advertising standards and practice to prevent the showing of an advertisement merely because it is related in subject matter to an adjacent programme. I understand that the IBA did consider carefully those advertisements which were due for transmission at the end of the programme to which the noble Lord refers and concluded that they were acceptable under the code.