Meeting of the Parliament 23 September 2015
I agree with that to an extent, but I am concerned about how the approach that the European Commission takes when it meets farming ministers in Brussels is implemented in other European countries. I would not wish to name names, but we all know that other countries take different approaches.
My final point is to agree with Alex Fergusson, Sarah Boyack and the cabinet secretary on public sector procurement. I think that there is a great deal more that we could do on that, not least because of the scale of Government spend on food and drink in the round across Scotland, which amounts to £160 million every year. The cabinet secretary was right to emphasise the importance of tackling the retail sector and bringing it up to the mark. We need to ensure that our public procurement is not run by huge multinational conglomerates but is much more local and therefore much more applicable to local farmers and crofters.
I move amendment S4M-14327, to leave out from second “notes” to end and insert:
“considers that Scottish agriculture, in particular the dairy and sheep sectors, is experiencing a financial crisis; recognises the importance of the new CAP Pillar 1 payments to crofters and farmers and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that these are fully paid in December 2015; welcomes the cross-party support that exists for a fairer allocation of the £190 million convergence uplift provided to the UK as a result of Scotland’s below average area payment rates and commends NFU Scotland for consistently making this case; believes that the Scottish Government should explore how it can use its significant public sector procurement powers to promote the use of Scottish produce; calls on the Scottish Government to work with the UK Government to further strengthen the powers of the Groceries Code Adjudicator, championed by Liberal Democrats in the last UK administration, to enable the adjudicator to investigate the supply chain from farm gate to dinner plate; welcomes the record growth in Scottish food and drink, but calls on the Scottish Government to ensure a fair deal for all farmers and all parts of the supply chain.”
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