Food Policy

Presiding Officer, today's debate has highlighted a subject very close to my heart - the procurement of local food particularly within the public sector. I'm reminded of the overwhelming cross party support shown by parliamentary colleagues during my members' debate back in June. Most people would find it impossible to argue against the use of local food not only on economic grounds, but also because of the benefits to our health and the planet or put very simply - our health, wealth and mother earth.

And similar to the debate we had last week on Scotland's historic environment, it's very difficult to disagree with the terms of the motion laid before us today - because of its blandness, but I do recommend support of our Liberal Democrat amendment which covers the points already stated back in June in my local food motion and debate.

I then used the example of the East Ayrshire Council in my area using a modest £30,000 from the Hungry for Success initiative to augment existing resources to fund its healthy eating schools pilot project. Initiatives like this are crucial in developing and thereafter maintaining the use of fresh and locally produced food in the public sector and I particularly look to the Cabinet Secretary and his education colleagues for clarification as to what replacement funding will be put in place when Hungry for Success comes to an end. Given the undeniably vital role it played in East Ayrshire and especially as the project benefits our young people, I hope that the Scottish Government will put funding in place beyond 2008.

There are perceptions of procurement rules being a hindrance, but in reality this needn't be the case. France, Italy and parts of Scandinavia already have successful purchasing systems that "push the competitive balance in favour of small, local producers", similar to the East Ayrshire project and focus on freshness and seasonality with contracts broken down into smaller lots to encourage smaller, local suppliers to bid.

Regarding retailers - in a global marketplace it's difficult to persuade the larger retailers to regularly use a significant amount of Scottish produce. In their quest to give customers more buy one get one free deals - bogof - (incidentally at the cost of the producer) and at the same time keeping their costs down to maximise profits, it's almost inevitable that they'll make the economic decision to source where it's most cost effective. But buying in from countries thousands of miles away is nonsensical. It removes the economic benefit from Scotland and means a compromise on the quality and freshness of the food we eat. And consumers want produce to be available all year round - resulting in out of season fruit and veg again being shipped in from far away. It's probably impossible to change every consumer's mindset - people always want variety and choice, and they always want it at a reasonable price. But it is possible to encourage the retailers to source more local produce. Planning requirements on supermarkets - that a proportion of goods stocked are sourced and delivered locally -when will this happen?

{{{Healthy, local food has to be affordable and accessible. Local community initiatives should be encouraged. Many charitable or voluntary groups will be eligible for lottery and other funding, but the Scottish Government has a huge role to play in making sure our public services in particular have the resources and tools at their disposal to make better use of healthy and locally grown produce. }}}

{{{As an additional point, we need to encourage better use of and access to what we have in Scotland. We have to remind people that the quality of produce grown in this country is second to none. Food and Drink Scotland will go some way towards that goal and I was pleased to see its recent launch of the Local Food Marketing Guide. }}}

The supermarkets also have a key role to play in making sure primary producers get a better deal - the Competition Commission just reported back on its investigation and recommended that there should be an independent ombudsman, something the Liberal democrats have recommended for a long time. In 2004 Richard Lochhead spoke about redressing the financial imbalance between, and I quote "the plough and the plate". The SNP manifesto pledges that it will stop the exploitation of primary producers by supermarkets. Ensuring they get a better deal will inevitably ensure a rural economy and broader food industry. So a strengthened supermarket code of practice and ombudsman would be a welcome move in addressing problems in the supply chain. In Mr Lochhead's response to my written PQ, he stated that he would be awaiting the outcome of the this report before making any decision on an ombudsman. So is the Cabinet Secretary now in a position to clarify this specific point and advise when we will see some action to protect primary producers at the farm gate?

Do we really need this motion congratulating the SNP on its commitment to launch a consultation and national debate? This debate started long ago! Didn't Mr Russell already voice his government's commitment to this issue back in June at which time the ball was firmly in his court? Hasn't the Scottish Government had long enough since then to come up with some detail to back up this commitment?

Presiding Officer, once again I cannot stress enough the benefits of using Scottish produce and I take this opportunity to make a repeated call on the Scottish Government to roll out the East Ayrshire project to all schools in Scotland. We need to see what detailed plans the Government has which will achieve as much local produce as possible being used in our schools, hospitals, prisons etc and we need to see them as a priority. The East Ayrshire project focused on schools, but the mechanisms for delivery can be applied to other sections of the public sector and I would call on the Cabinet Secretary to make some firm steps in achieving what he committed to 6 months ago. I recommend supporting the Liberal Democrat amendment to this motion.