Keir Starmer is ready to resist the ‘nanny state’ ridicule in a radical push for better public health

Ministers are working on sweeping public health measures to prevent disease and ease the pressure on the NHS, including banning junk food advertising and stopping children buying caffeinated energy drinks.

The government made it clear it would not hear the “predictable cries of a ‘nanny state’” because Keir Starmer was convinced this was the way to improve the service.

Junk food ads will be banned from television before the 9pm watershed, the government has announced. Online ads for products high in fat, salt and sugar will be banned altogether. Both measures, which are aimed at tackling childhood obesity, will come into effect in a year.

Plans to ban children from buying energy drinks high in caffeine are expected to be announced next month, part of the same public health campaign that was also in Labour’s election manifesto.

The government is planning to introduce a tougher bill on tobacco and e-cigarettes in the coming months, which will likely extend the indoor smoking ban to pub beer gardens.

Ministers are also looking at expanding water fluoridation to improve dental health and giving councils more powers to block the development of fast food outlets near schools to tackle obesity. Further measures are being considered, with government officials asking the public health sector for policy proposals.

A government source told the Guardian: “We are looking seriously at where we can go next on prevention. As Ara Darzi outlined in his report, the rise in sickness in our society is putting enormous pressure on the NHS. Keir is not afraid to do controversial things when they are the right things to do. He is prepared to take on the predictable cries of ‘nanny state’ to reduce waiting lists, keep people healthy and in work, and secure the long-term future of the NHS.”

Starmer was speaking at the King’s Fund after a report by Lord Darzi, a former health minister, concluded that the health service was “in a critical state” after years of neglect by successive governments.

The prime minister said he was prepared to take “much bolder” measures to prevent disease. “There’s diet, there’s healthy lifestyle, we’re going to have to get into that space. I know some of the prevention measures are going to be controversial but I’m prepared to be bold, even if there’s loud opposition,” he said. “Some of our changes aren’t going to be universally popular, we know that, but I’m going to do the right thing for our NHS, our economy and our children.”

Starmer and Wes Streeting, the health secretary, want the NHS to take a more proactive role in prevention, including through the Workplace Health Checks programme, which offers people checks at work to prevent heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes.

A public health official said the Darzi report “pulled no punches” at the wider public health causes behind the NHS’s problems, and that this reflected a broader shift in approach from that of the previous government.

They said officials had consulted the sector on policy proposals, including on how to tackle obesity. As well as anti-smoking measures and a likely push for water fluoridation, the official said they believed ministers were exploring ways to reduce the health damage caused by alcohol. “I don’t know if it will happen, but along with smoking, alcohol is the obvious thing to look at,” they said.

Also on Thursday, Michael Barber, who was head of delivery in Tony Blair’s government between 2001 and 2005, was appointed Keir Starmer’s adviser on effective delivery.