Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 22 March 2022
I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in support of the bill and about the committee’s detailed scrutiny and report at stage 1.
The aims of the bill are fairly straightforward: to produce good food nation plans and to have regard to those plans when exercising other functions. I particularly enjoyed reading the section of the committee’s report on exactly what “have regard to” means, but I will talk about that later, if I get the opportunity.
The principles behind the bill are a natural consequence of Scotland’s having an excellent world-class reputation for producing high-quality food. Taking that a step further by creating local food plans is world leading. It is nice to think that other nations look to Scotland to lead on how to become a good food nation. That expectation will certainly have been enhanced by the committee’s diligence in scrutinising the Government’s proposals. We can see that clearly if we read the report. I am pleased to see that the bill also received the unanimous support of the committee—albeit with a number of recommendations to strengthen it.
It is quite an aim to ask the nation to embrace a good food nation plan and to ask that we all take pride in the food that we produce, buy, cook and, ultimately, enjoy every day. As ever, the tests of success will be whether the legislation will be easily adopted across a country that is as diverse as Scotland, and how effective it will be in meeting the aims. There was some good discussion in the committee about how that could be done.
The Government describes the bill as a framework bill, so the committee looked in detail at whether the bill itself should include targets and outcomes. From what I have read, I know that a number of targets were offered during evidence, but the committee took the reasonable view that it is not appropriate to include targets in a framework bill, especially when the key driver will be the development of local good food plans across the country, varied though they will no doubt be.
One big issue that came up was the duty of oversight, and where it should lie. From the discussion of the subject in the report, it is clear that the proposals to lay the national plans in Parliament and to make five-yearly progress reports are thought to be insufficient. It is also fair to say that there was no agreement about whether a new body should provide that oversight, or whether the duty could be placed on an existing body. I would be grateful to the committee members who will speak in the debate if they would clarify that point; it looks as though some work remains to be done on that part of the bill.
One aspect of the bill that took me by surprise was the proposal that there be a statutory right to food. I was genuinely pleased to read that, of course. The question whether to incorporate that within the bill or within human rights legislation also caused quite a bit of discussion. From what I can see, the committee supported the proposal’s being contained in human rights legislation, but with strong references to that right being clear within the bill. Again, I commend the committee for exploring the important matter of a person’s right to an adequate standard of living, with food clearly being a key part of that.
I return briefly to the debate on what “have regard to” actually means. The bill asks ministers to have regard to the national good food nation plan when exercising other duties. Discussion seemed to centre on what that actually means. That there should be demonstration by evidence that the plan is part of wider consideration is how I read that, but I think that it would be a wise move on my part to leave it to other members to explain that more fully.
I am grateful to colleagues in East Ayrshire Council who reminded the committee that some authorities are already on the good food nation journey, and that the council is recognised as one of the leading authorities in Scotland when it comes to farming, food production and celebrating good food. There are more than 1,000 small and medium-sized food and drink businesses across Ayrshire. East Ayrshire Council is leading the local economic partnership’s food and drink workstream, and is, as part of the Ayrshire growth deal, developing a centre of excellence to support the industry. That work was led in its early days by Robin Gourlay, who was mentioned by Jenni Minto.
Like many other members, I am extremely proud of the quality of produce that comes from my part of the world—Ayrshire, which has the finest milk, dairy products and quality beef on offer, and which gave its name to the curing process for the bacon products that are enjoyed by so many people in Parliament and across the world.
Lastly, please let us remember that it will not be too long before our famous Ayrshire tatties will be on the market.
With that, Presiding Officer, I commend the committee for its excellent work. I look forward to hearing members’ contributions.
16:01