YES - Jenny Jones, Green Party member, and chair, London Food Commission
Vending machines should be banned, but it also comes down to what you put in them. If you put the right choices in front of people, then it will help tackle obesity. Young people will eat healthy options, as long as they are cheap and available.
The Government isn't giving enough money to schools and youth clubs, so they end up relying on income from other sources such as vending machines.
But if more funding was made available, they would have more freedom to encourage healthy eating.
Vending companies will offer whatever gets them a profit, so the Government needs to take the lead by putting in place legislation banning junk food advertising. The repercussions of obesity in 10 or 20 years' time will be phenomenal if no action is taken. This ultimately will put further strain on the NHS.
I chair the London Food Commission to look at this issue in the capital, especially "food deserts": areas of London where you can't buy affordable fresh food and veg even if you want to.
NO - Matthew Green MP, Liberal Democrat youth spokesperson
Vending machines shouldn't be banned in youth centres, as they serve the useful purpose of conveniently providing food and drinks. However, the food and drinks sold in these machines should be monitored. There's no reason why these machines can't sell healthier options, rather than crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks. If all young people are faced with is junk food, then that's what they'll end up eating.
We need to give young people more choice, and far more healthy options, so that they're not forced to make bad food choices. There's no need to ban vending machines in youth centres, but there is a need for regulations to ensure there is a wide range of choice in these machines. We also need to ensure that healthy and non-healthy items are priced similarly, so that young people do not simply go for junk foods and fizzy drinks as a cheap option.
NO - Euan Eddie, director of programmes, National Association of Clubs for Young People
Young people would undoubtedly benefit greatly from consuming fewer sugary foods and fizzy drinks. Youth obesity is soaring and we must do all we can to ensure young people take greater personal responsibility for their diet.
However, banning vending machines from youth clubs will have no discernible positive benefit on the dietary needs of young people. It could easily encourage them to bring their own sweets or may even put them off attending clubs altogether.
Essentially, it is up to clubs and organisations to encourage young people to think about their health. It would be much better for clubs to get members to play a more active role in deciding the content of vending machines. How about replacing some of those fizzy drinks with bottled water?
Belonging to a club or participating in sport are ideal ways of encouraging healthier lifestyles. Let's work with young people, rather than telling them what they can or cannot have.
NO - Charlie Powell, project officer, Sustain
The children's food bill is calling for a ban on vending machines in schools, but this doesn't extend to youth centres as such. However, we would support the Food Standards Agency's recommendation that schools and publicly funded premises should remove branded vending machines that offer food high in salt, sugar and fat. This would include youth clubs.
We're not prohibiting vending machines as such, but the unhealthy foods sold in the machines.
At the moment, it is down to governors to decide whether schools have vending machines, so it is a postcode lottery whether young people have access to healthy food.
The Government should take the lead on this issue. At the moment, regulations provided by the Food Standards Agency for the food industry are voluntary and not worth the paper they are written on. There is nothing for the food industry to comply with, which is the crux of the problem.
