National Good Food Nation Plan

Annex B - Legislative Requirements

Content

Section 1(1) of the Act contains specific requirements about what this plan must include:

(a) the main outcomes in relation to food-related issues which the Scottish Ministers want to be achieved in relation to Scotland

The Outcomes are outlined in Part Two of this Plan.

(b) indicators or other measures by which progress in achieving the outcomes may be assessed

Indicators and other measures are outlined in Table 2 in Part Two of this Plan.

(c) the policies which the Scottish Ministers intend to pursue in order to secure the achievement of the outcomes.

Policies are outlined in Part Three of this Plan.

Outcomes

Section 1 (6) lists a range of issues that have been taken into account when developing the overarching Good Food Nation Outcomes.

Section 1 Requirement to Produce Plan

(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan so far as required by subsection (3), the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things—

(a) social and economic wellbeing,

(b) the environment, in particular in relation to—

(i) climate change, and

(ii) wildlife and the natural environment,

(c) health and physical and mental wellbeing (including in particular through the provision of health and social care services),

(d) economic development,

(e) animal welfare,

(f) education, and

(g) child poverty.

Principles

Section 2 of the Act outlines a set of principles that Scottish Ministers must have regard to in the preparation of the plan. This is reflected in our Outcomes and the policies that have been outlined in Part Three of the Plan.

Accordingly, this Plan has been prepared with regard to:

Section 2 Preparation of plan: principles

In preparing the national good food nation plan, the Scottish Ministers must have regard to—

(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food,

(b) the role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing of loss of biodiversity and improvement in animal welfare,

(c) the ability of high-quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people,

(d) the fact that adequate food is a human right (as part of the right to an adequate standard of living set out in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and essential to the realisation of other human rights,

(e) the importance of the food business sector—

(i) continuing to be a thriving part of the Scottish economy,

(ii) having resilient supply chains,

(iii) operating with fair work standards, and

(iv) in contributing to resilient local economies across Scotland.

Table 3 below illustrates how the principles and issues listed above have been taken into account in the development of the six Good Food Nation Outcomes.

Outcome

Outcome 1: Everyone in Scotland eats well with reliable access to safe, nutritious, affordable, sustainable, and age and culturally appropriate food.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(a) social and economic wellbeing
• 1(6)(c) health and physical and mental wellbeing (including in particular through the provision of health and social care services)
• 1(6)(g) child poverty

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food
• 2(c) the ability of high-quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people
• 2(d) the fact that adequate food is a human right (as part of the right to an adequate standard of living set out in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and essential to the realisation of other human rights

Outcome

Outcome 2: Scotland’s food system is sustainable and contributes to a flourishing natural environment. It supports our net zero ambitions, and plays an important role in maintaining and improving animal welfare and in restoring and regenerating biodiversity.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(b) the environment, including in particular in relation to—

(i) climate change, and

(ii) wildlife and the natural environment

• 1(6)(e) animal welfare

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food
• 2(b) the role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing of loss of biodiversity and improvement in animal welfare

Outcome

Outcome 3: Scotland’s food system encourages a physically and mentally healthy population, leading to a reduction in diet-related conditions.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(c) health and physical and mental wellbeing (including in particular through the provision of health and social care services)

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(c) the ability of high- quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people
• 2(d) the fact that adequate food is a human right (as part of the right to an adequate standard of living set out in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and essential to the realisation of other human rights

Outcome

Outcome 4: Our food and drink sector is prosperous, diverse, innovative, and vital to national and local economic and social wellbeing. It is key to making Scotland food secure and food resilient, and creates and sustains jobs and businesses underpinned by fair work standards.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(a) social and economic wellbeing
• 1(6)(d) economic development

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food
• 2(e) the importance of the food business sector—

(i) continuing to be a thriving part of the Scottish economy,

(ii) having resilient supply chains,

(iii) operating with fair work standards, and

(iv) in contributing to resilient local economies across Scotland.

Outcome

Outcome 5: Scotland has a thriving food culture with a population who are interested in and educated about good and sustainable food.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(b) the environment, including in particular in relation to—

(i) climate change, and

(ii) wildlife and the natural environment

• 1(6)(f) education

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food
• 2(b) the role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing of loss of biodiversity and improvement in animal welfare
• 2(c) the ability of high- quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people

Outcome

Outcome 6: Scotland has a global reputation for high-quality food that we want to continue to grow. Decisions we make in Scotland contribute positively to local and global food systems transformation. We share and learn from best practice internationally.

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 1(6) In determining the content of the national good food nation plan…the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things

• 1(6)(a) social and economic wellbeing
• 1(6)(d) economic development

Links to Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 – Section 2 Principles to which Scottish Ministers must have regard when preparing the national good food nation plan

• 2(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food

International Instruments

The act specified a set of international instruments Scottish Ministers should have regard to in the preparation of the plan. These international instruments have been considered in the preparation of the Outcomes. Table 1 in Part Two of this Plan highlights how the Outcomes relate to relevant international instruments.

Section 5 Preparation of plan: consideration of international instruments

(1) In preparing the national good food nation plan, the Scottish Ministers must have regard to the international instruments listed in subsection (2).

(2) Those instruments are—

(a) Article 11 (so far as it concerns adequate food) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

(b) Article 24(2)(c) (so far as it concerns the provision of adequate nutritious foods) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,

(c) Articles 27(1) and (3) (so far as they concern nutrition) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,

(d) Article 12(2) (so far as it as concerns adequate nutrition during pregnancy and lactation) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.