Chamber
Plenary, 25 Nov 2004
25 Nov 2004 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Food (Supermarkets)
In this debate on food and supermarkets, we need to ask ourselves some fundamental questions about how well we, as a society and a nation, are being served by the dominance of the four big supermarket chains. Three quarters of the United Kingdom grocery sector is dominated by four major supermarket chains. What effect is that concentration of selling and buying power having on Scottish farmers and producers, on local high streets, on local economies and on consumer choice and health?
The chief executive of the Big Food Group plc, which owns Iceland stores, has given a stark warning that we are at a point at which what we do now about supermarkets will set the terms of our social legacy for the future. We can either act now to curb monopolisation or we can allow choice to be cut even further. The supermarkets would have us believe that one of their big advantages is consumer choice. The reality is that most people drive to just one shop and shop there, and so they are unable to make a choice or even a comparison with other shops. Once people are in the supermarket, the choice is between 20 different kinds of over-processed breakfast cereal or six different thicknesses of loo paper.
The chief executive of the Big Food Group plc, which owns Iceland stores, has given a stark warning that we are at a point at which what we do now about supermarkets will set the terms of our social legacy for the future. We can either act now to curb monopolisation or we can allow choice to be cut even further. The supermarkets would have us believe that one of their big advantages is consumer choice. The reality is that most people drive to just one shop and shop there, and so they are unable to make a choice or even a comparison with other shops. Once people are in the supermarket, the choice is between 20 different kinds of over-processed breakfast cereal or six different thicknesses of loo paper.
In the same item of business
The Presiding Officer (Mr George Reid):
NPA
Good morning. The first item of business is a debate on motion S2M-2056, in the name of Shiona Baird, on supermarkets and the Scottish food chain, and three ...
Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green):
Green
In this debate on food and supermarkets, we need to ask ourselves some fundamental questions about how well we, as a society and a nation, are being served b...
Alex Fergusson (Galloway and Upper Nithsdale) (Con):
Con
Will the member take an intervention?
Shiona Baird:
Green
No, I really must keep going.Meanwhile, back in the high street, specialised stores, including butchers, bakers, fishmongers and newsagents, are closing at a...
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
Does the member concede that one of the problems for those of us who have some sympathy with what she is saying is that where we are going is a result of con...
Shiona Baird:
Green
That is exactly what I am trying to point out. The choice is being taken away by the four major retailers. Where is the choice, if the local butchers and the...
Dr Sylvia Jackson (Stirling) (Lab):
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Shiona Baird:
Green
No.A recent survey by the Food Commission showed that buying a basket of those healthy options from a supermarket cost 51 per cent more than buying a basket ...
George Lyon (Argyll and Bute) (LD):
LD
We have heard a litany of the problems and, as Alasdair Morgan pointed out, we have some sympathy with what the member is saying, but what is the Green solut...
Shiona Baird:
Green
That just illustrates the paucity of the member's argument.
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Answer the question.
Shiona Baird:
Green
I will answer the question.What we want is fair trade—the farmers themselves talk about that. We want a fair balance between the big retailers, and a real ch...
Dr Jackson:
Lab
Will the member take an intervention?
Shiona Baird:
Green
No, I have had eight minutes already.That is why the Green party wants and expects the Executive to put pressure on Westminster to ensure that our farmers an...
The Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Ross Finnie):
LD
I am certainly not here this morning to champion the supermarkets, but, quite honestly, the appalling scattergun approach of the Greens is simply not credibl...
Shiona Baird:
Green
Is the minister listening to the NFUS?
Ross Finnie:
LD
I am listening to the NFUS, and I will come back to that.Of course there are problems in some sectors, which I will address, and problems with enforcement of...
Mark Ballard (Lothians) (Green):
Green
The minister talks about choice. The people of Portobello, in my region, will face the devastation of their high street if a new supermarket is built there. ...
Ross Finnie:
LD
Rather than being an intervention, that was probably a more forceful speech than the one that we heard earlier. Interestingly enough, however, it was about p...
John Scott (Ayr) (Con):
Con
On vertically integrated co-operatives in the dairy sector, the sector has believed hitherto that it will be difficult to achieve vertical integration and ac...
Ross Finnie:
LD
My officials have had discussions on that subject with the Office of Fair Trading and our understanding is that a properly planned programme that sets out ho...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
When the OFT reports on the code of practice and its failings—we all know that it has failed—what will the Executive do? What representation will the ministe...
Ross Finnie:
LD
As always, I will await the outcome of the report before deciding on the tactics and strategy that I will take. We are looking, I hope, for that report to po...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
In the light of European Union directives, what influence can the minister have on public procurement of locally produced food? What guidance will he give so...
Ross Finnie:
LD
I understand that. As I indicated, we have launched new guidelines for the public sector to try to ensure that there is a wider range of public procurement, ...
Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP):
SNP
Will the member take an intervention on that point?
Ross Finnie:
LD
No. I must move on, as I think that I am running out of time.We are keen to ensure that we implement the "Organic Action Plan" to improve the quality and ran...
Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
There is no doubt that the supermarkets, thanks to their ingenuity and chilling business acumen, have changed the way in which we shop, eat and think in this...
Ross Finnie:
LD
I share the member's concern and frustration, but I hope that he accepts that if he were ever to be a minister and the Food Standards Agency produced a repor...
Richard Lochhead:
SNP
If I were the minister, I would ask myself what the purpose of establishing the Food Standards Agency was. Its role is to give the Government independent adv...