HOW TO PREVENT THIS PROB??

It was Edward VIII as Prince of Wales who memorably said 'Something must be done', as he observed the grinding poverty and desperate queues of the unemployed in 1930s Britain. His words are particularly apt when it comes to the debate about the need for an independent regulatory body--with sharp legal teeth--to monitor the ethics of reality television shows that use vulnerable families and infants to boost ratings in a cut-throat media world.

'Something must be done' goes the cry, only to be met with a quiet chorus of hand-wringing from regulators and others with influence in this field. Broadcasting regulator Ofcom rejected all 752 complaints about Channel Four's Bringing up baby, which featured the controversial Claire Verity. Children's commissioner for England Professor Sir Al Aynsley-Green told Unite/CPHVA activist Christine Bidmead that it would not be in his 2008 work programme when she broached the subject at the annual conference in the autumn.

It is not that regulators and supervisory authorities cannot produce hard-hitting reports when they want to--look at the National Audit Office or House of Commons select committees. This issue has already attracted more than 3600 signatures on the Downing Street website, so what can be done to encourage regulators to take it seriously?

There may be scope in exploring the possibility of a private member's bill from a committed MP. Admittedly, this is tricky to achieve--the MP has to finish high up in the parliamentary ballot to have any chance for such a bill to be successful, and it is a lengthy process that needs tacit government support. The most famous modern example of a high-profile private member's bill reaching the statute book was David Steel's Abortion Act in 1967. If this route is not possible, more pressure should be applied to regulators. They can be shifted--in January, Ofcom banned junk food adverts during television programmes aimed at children under 16.

There is now new Ofcom guidance for programme makers dealing with children, however Unite/CPHVA is concerned that this is not mandatory. It is only the threat of legal sanctions that will make TV companies take note--they are not philanthropists, and it is ratings that are paramount to them.

The campaign has great momentum, generated by Unite/CPHVA and similar-minded organsations such as the NSPCC, and will be strongly pursued this year. Unlike Edward VIII, the regulatory authorities should not be allowed to abdicate their responsibilities.