Meeting of the Parliament 20 November 2014
If Mr Stevenson is accusing me of accusing him of being repetitious, I will reserve judgment on that until later in the debate.
Not for the first time, I am more than happy to applaud the Government for recognising the sector’s potential and for delivering the mechanisms and structures—particularly through recipes for success—that have allowed it to flourish during the past few years, even as other sectors have struggled with the economic pressures that were brought about by the worst economic depression in the so-called developed world since the 1930s. It is a massive testament to all who are involved in the food and drink sector, from the smallest artisan producer to the industrial-scale processors of some of our best-known products, that that is the case. Their efforts have brought about the real success that is Scotland’s food and drink industry, and we should all applaud them for it.
We should also recognise the role that has been played by Scotland Food and Drink since it was established in 2007. Initially, it was tasked with
“growing the value of Scotland’s food and drink sector, making it more profitable and delivering greater global success in a challenging and competitive environment.”
It set about its task with such determination and focus that it has set a new goal of increasing the sector’s turnover to £16.5 billion by 2017, having achieved its original target six years ahead of schedule, as the cabinet secretary noted. If only every Government initiative could boast that level of success, we would be living in a much happier world. However, it is surely to the great credit of the management team at Scotland Food and Drink that that success has been achieved. I note with some sadness that Ray Jones, the chair of the organisation, will step down from his role at the end of the month. I am sure that I am not alone in wishing him well. Alex Salmond’s shoes are not the only ones that will take some filling as 2014 draws to a close.
The figures that enable us to measure that success are impressive, as the various briefings that members received prior to the debate indicate. There were overall sales of £13.1 billion in 2013. Exports are playing an increasingly important role, with some 60 per cent of Scottish companies looking to expand their overseas markets. Food manufacturing grew by more than 20 per cent last year, and there is the potential to create almost 10,000 new jobs in the sector over the next five years. Who could fail to get excited about statistics and prospects of that nature?
However, there are concerns, such as the rising cost of new materials; sustainability and security of supply; the burden of regulation; and the crucial need for innovation and improvement in food production—an area in which small and medium-sized enterprises play such an important role.
There are other, wider concerns. The export record and potential of farmed salmon is spectacular, but the industry continues to provoke serious environmental questions, on matters such as sea lice and the shooting of seals, which remain unanswered. The sector is left a little vulnerable while those questions remain unanswered.
I was horrified to hear RSPB Scotland say, in evidence to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee last week, that it harbours serious concerns that too great a proportion of common agricultural policy support will remain targeted at the most productive areas of Scotland after CAP reforms are in place.
I hotly contest the RSPB’s suggestion, as would most of my constituents in the productive agriculture sector. If we fail to support our productive areas we could lose the critical mass of some of our national products, such as our wonderful Scottish beef, and thus begin to reverse the huge successes that we are highlighting today. We can maintain those successes only if we maintain a balance on all the issues.
Next year will be the designated year of food and drink. I very much welcome the initiative, which has great potential. I add a slight caveat. Alongside the year of food and drink, we will be taking forward the consultation, “Recipe for Success: Scotland’s National Food & Drink Policy—Becoming a Good Food Nation”. I have no quibble with the vision that lies behind the consultation, but I have sympathy with NFU Scotland’s view that the vision might be more holistic than tangible and might prove difficult to measure. I hope that the NFUS is wrong.
If we are truly to become a good food nation, we have to tackle the fundamental problem that the cabinet secretary and Claire Baker mentioned. It is a problem that I see vividly at too many secondary schools in my constituency, in the shape of the fleet of fast-food vehicles that park as close to the school gates as they can get during the lunch hour.
We all know the dreadful statistics on obesity and heart disease and on other lifestyle issues that are all too common in Scotland today, and we all know the stress that those issues place on our health services. It has to be a great irony that as we designate 2015 the year of food and drink and work towards becoming a good food nation, we are simultaneously and not terribly successfully trying to deal with a population that suffers from some of the worst diet-induced health problems in the western world.
Perhaps that should spur us on towards becoming a good food nation. There is no doubt that the health and environmental benefits of doing so are unquestionable.
I have reservations about the proposed establishment of a food commission, but those are for another debate, and I am out of time.
Conservatives welcome the success of Scotland’s food and drink sector and wish the sector well in future. We will support the amendment and the motion.
15:03