Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2014
The Food (Scotland) Bill was welcomed by most of the people who responded to the Health and Sport Committee’s call for evidence, and the relatively few amendments to it at stages 2 and 3 indicate the general approval of its measures. I said at stage 1:
“In this day and age, when so many of us rely increasingly on processed food and ready-prepared meals, it is crucial that we can trust the safety and nutrition value of the food that we eat.”—[Official Report, 2 October 2014; c 47.]
It is also vital that we begin to tackle the very serious problem of obesity in Scotland.
Given the changed remit of the Food Standards Agency south of the border and following the horsemeat scandal, it is generally accepted that the time is right for Scotland to set up a new stand-alone body, with wider powers than the FSA that it replaces. FSS will bring together the FSA’s existing public health protection role and a new objective on diet and nutrition, and it will also have powers in relation to labelled food and non-compliance with food law.
To be effective in tackling the complexities of diet and nutrition in Scotland, FSS will have to develop a strong leadership and co-ordinating role, which can be developed only through negotiation after the new body is in place. It must be adequately resourced and work closely with the Scottish Government’s scientific advisers.
At stage 1, the importance of the existing links between the advisory committees and the UK Food Standards Agency was highlighted. Those committees will be able to pull together the significant on-going work in the UK and across Europe, and give advice through the FSA to FSS as an independent body. That makes the memorandum of understanding between the FSA and FSS crucial to the success of the new body. It must set out how the two will work together, where appropriate, and enable them to exchange data and research findings in all areas of mutual interest. I confess that I do not know whether the MOU has yet been published, although I know that it was being drafted. I would appreciate an update from the minister on its development.