Chamber and committees

Universities are a vital part of many local communities, and we must ensure that they recover from the pandemic in a way that protects the health of students and staff. However, in light of rising Covid cases nationally, we continue to see outbreaks in universities such as the University of St Andrews, where more than 450 students tested positive in a single week.

Does the Scottish Government agree that we should consider continuing to mandate protections such as face coverings, testing on campuses, social distancing and ventilation in our universities?

I look forward to meeting the minister tomorrow, alongside trade unions and climate campaigners, to discuss the need for an offshore training passport.

Another barrier that faces offshore oil and gas workers in transitioning to green jobs is the poor employment practices in the offshore wind supply chain. The Scottish Government often talks about its commitment to fair work, so will it support sectoral collective bargaining in the offshore wind industry?

I have just knocked over and spilled a whole glass of water. However, now I can get started.

I thank my colleagues on the committee and everyone who contributed the evidence that helped the committee produce its report.

It is clear that there is broad support across the country and within Parliament for the principles that underlie the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill. That is important because, as the cost of living crisis deepens and more people across Scotland are faced with the reality of food insecurity, transformative change within our food system is long overdue.

The food insecurity that so many now face is not only being driven by the current cost of living crisis; it has been allowed to develop because of political choices made in the past decade. Our Governments have chosen not to tackle low pay, insecure work or inadequate social security provision.

The bill gives us an opportunity to transform our food system and to take action to end food poverty in Scotland. It is clear that, in order to do so, it must be strengthened in a number of areas. As we heard from Rachael Hamilton, the idea of using the bill to incorporate the right to food in Scots law was repeatedly raised throughout the committee’s evidence sessions. That has been called for by campaigners such as the Scottish Food Coalition and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union. Those campaigners are rightly concerned that, as it stands, the bill lacks a clear purpose and will do little to bring effect to the right to food, even if that is introduced in future human rights legislation.

The general secretary of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, Sarah Woolley, expressed that concern when she said:

“no ‘Good Food Nation’ Bill in 2022 can be taken seriously without a statutory commitment to deliver a right to food.”

I hope that, ahead of stage 2, the Scottish Government will reflect on the need for the bill to be given a clearer purpose. As Colin Smyth outlined, and as suggested by campaigners, that could be achieved through the introduction of a purpose clause to make it clear that the bill will give effect to the right to food.

The bill also needs high-level objectives that will help to guide implementation and measure the success of the good food nation plans. Earlier, we heard from Karen Adam that people who are living in food poverty do not care about targets; they care about actual outcomes. That might be true, but without the targets we have no way to mandate and measure the change that we need.

As the bill stands, there is no requirement for good food nation plans to have objectives and indicators in relation to the wider food system. That means that there is no mandate to support sustainable agriculture, to improve animal welfare or to enhance pay and conditions in food supply chains, and it means that there are no indicators that could be used to measure the success of good food nation plans. If we are serious about transforming Scotland into a good food nation, which I think we all are, we must take a system-wide approach to food policy that addresses those issues.

We heard earlier from Ariane Burgess about calls from campaigners for a purpose-built cross-cutting Scottish food commission. Like them, I believe that there is a role for a statutory oversight body to monitor the development and implementation of good food nation plans. As Rhoda Grant highlighted, such an independent oversight body could not only provide scrutiny of good food nation plans but contribute to their development through actions such as research support.

The body could also improve accountability by supporting Parliament in its scrutiny of the national good food nation plan and of the Scottish Government’s overall progress towards delivering a good food nation. Back in August, the Scottish Government recognised that there might be a role for such an oversight body to monitor the delivery of good food nation plans, so I hope that it will now think again about including proposals for such a body ahead of stage 2.

Although Labour supports the principles that underpin the bill, we believe that it is clear that it should be strengthened. The bill should be given a clear purpose to give effect to a right to food; it should include high-level objectives and indicators to help with the development of good food nation plans and to measure their success; and it should provide for a statutory independent oversight body. The Scottish Government has a political choice to make. Will it push forward with an empty framework, or will it work with campaigners and across the parties to create a bill that is fit to bring about the transformational system change that our nation needs?

You might be getting some feedback—I can hear a bit of an echo.

I want to comment on the type of fishing that is being restricted. I understand that, when the Government announced its public consultation on the proposals, it confirmed that hand diving for scallops will no longer be prohibited but that creeling will still be prohibited, along with dredging and trawling. Could we seek some clarification from the minister about why those different types of fishing—creeling, dredging and trawling—are being treated in the same way despite the fact that the Scottish Government categorises dredging as severe, whereas creeling is considered low impact?

The Government previously said that it wants to take a precautionary approach, but, because it chose the smaller of two possible boundary areas, I am confused about whether the approach is precautionary. It seems that, within the new, smaller boundary, everything will be prohibited and that, outside the boundary, everything will be allowed. There are different types of fishing, with different impact levels, so I would be grateful if we could seek some clarity from the minister about why those activities have been categorised in the same way.

Research by Energy Action Scotland shows that nearly 40 per cent of households will no longer be able to afford to heat their homes adequately due to rising energy prices. However, the Scottish Government has rowed back on its promise to create a publicly owned energy company, despite the outline business case showing that it would have produced annual savings for customers.

I seek clarity from the First Minister. Does she believe, as I do, that essential resources such as energy must be available to everyone on the basis of need, not ability to pay?

The time for a green industrial revolution is now.

Previously, the Scottish Government promised to deliver 130,000 green jobs by 2020. However, just a sixth of that number have been delivered. Latest figures reveal that the number of green jobs is falling, with the loss of nearly 3,000 since 2014. Will the Scottish Government support Labour’s call for the £700 million from the ScotWind licensing, and all annual income, to be ring fenced for investment in the creation of green jobs?

Okay. I will be happy to hear from the minister at another time.

I would also like, finally, to get a commitment to support for an offshore training passport, at least in principle, because in the wake of COP26 and as we head towards COP27, we have an opportunity to demonstrate Scotland’s climate justice, underpinned by social and economic justice—

To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making towards the establishment of a peace institute by the end of 2022, as set out in its 2021-22 programme for government. (S6O-00844)

The Scottish Government has committed to establishing a peace institute, with a focus on human rights, by the end of this year. Amnesty International recently published a report into Israel’s apartheid against Palestinians. It includes a

“call on states to immediately suspend the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer”

of arms to Israel. Given the human rights abuses that Palestinians face, will the Scottish Government’s peace institute have the scope to review the almost £10 million given by Scottish Enterprise in grants to arms companies that sell weapons to Israel?