Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 15 June 2022
The language that we have used is important, because it has legal effect, and the Scottish Government can be held to account—and has been, in the past—because of the use of that particular language. It is important to highlight that.
There has been a lot of discussion of the food commission. I thank my colleagues in the Green Party for working with me to ensure that we arrived at a position that allows for real scrutiny of the Government’s work on the good food nation goals while respecting the budgetary constraints that we are operating within. I have listened to a range of viewpoints on scrutiny in the context of the bill, and I have met members of all parties in Parliament in recent weeks to discuss their views. Having considered all the options, the views of stakeholders and the support for a commission from all Opposition parties at stage 2, I decided to support the creation of a new food commission. I believe that the independent and expert advice that will be provided by the new food commission will be valuable for relevant authorities in the creation of their plans.
Finally, I will touch on the issue of targets, which have been the subject of much of the debate today. Having listened to the points that have been raised by members across all the parties, I have to say that we are not far apart on the aims that we ultimately want to achieve, whether they involve health, education or tackling poverty. I completely understand the motivation of those who have sought the inclusion of those targets in the text of the bill, and that question was discussed at length during the committee’s evidence sessions. Many stakeholders gave a range of examples of targets that they would like to see in the bill. I want to stress that each of those targets is important in its own right, but we firmly believe that the best place for such targets is in our plans, following widespread and inclusive consultation with all stakeholders. That was also the view that the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee expressed in its stage 1 report.