Chamber and committees

Pauline Smith, can you say a wee bit about the work that the Development Trusts Association Scotland has been doing with the Scottish Land Commission on the vacant and derelict land project? I visited the High Mill project in Carluke, which is one of the fantastic derelict buildings projects that was supported. When you reviewed the work, you made a number of recommendations. Where are those recommendations? Are they being taken forward by policy makers? What do we need to do to support projects of the type that the trusts support?

I am sure that we can follow up where we are with that. That would be great, convener.

Presumably, there is a difference between Buchanan Galleries and Dumfries High Street. Nobody will be queuing up any time soon to build a shopping centre on Dumfries High Street, so why are those properties held on to? Is it the same issue relating to investors not having the money to get the work done?

I will follow on from Colin Beattie’s questions. Dementia Friendly Prestwick is based on the dementia friendly communities in Japan, and its work is very much driven by volunteers and by working with Alzheimer Scotland and the local health board. For example, staff in shops have been trained to be dementia friendly. A lot of community work has been done.

Would you like the committee to recommend any specific policy-related or legislative change to support the people whom you represent and drive the work forward? Nicoletta Primo mentioned the pavement parking ban. Should we ban A-boards on high streets, for example?

I want to follow up on Michelle Thomson’s questions about the ownership of properties in our town centres. Derelict properties are a big issue for us that people constantly raise. I will bring in Allison Orr first of all. Absent landlords—Martin Avila mentioned such ownership—can often ask for unrealistic rents, or unrealistic prices for the sale of their properties.

Recently, we visited the Midsteeple Quarter in Dumfries, which is my home town. One of the properties that the project was interested in probably had a value of about £100,000, but it was sold a few years ago for £700,000 and the owners were still asking for an astronomical fee. Why do pension funds and others hold on to properties that are clearly declining in value? What do we need to do to, in effect, wrestle the properties off them or ensure that they bring derelict properties up to a suitable standard so that they are habitable?

What is the incentive for an overseas investor to hold on to a property that is sitting empty and derelict on the high street?

What is the barrier to having more community ownership in town centres at the moment? Is it access to funding or—

I am conscious of the time, but I will give Adam Stachura his “Dragons’ Den” moment. What is the one policy change that we need to make or recommend, or it is just about ensuring that existing policies are better adhered to?

My amendments 4 and 11 would require the bill to provide for active participation by stakeholders at national and local levels in developing good food nation plans. There should be a duty on relevant authorities to seek input and views on good food nation plans in an intersectional and fully accessible way.

In the design and implementation of a good food nation plan, relevant authorities should use accessible and inclusive communication to work with people with lived experience and should set out any representations that have been received and how those representations were considered when preparing any final plans. That should be set out in a statement that accompanies a national good food nation plan. Accessible and inclusive communication could include formats such as community languages, British Sign Language, Braille, Moon, EasyRead, clear and large print and paper formats.

As the committee’s report states, many stakeholders highlighted the importance of authorities ensuring that participation opportunities are not stigmatising—for example, Obesity Action Scotland stressed the importance of being

“mindful of the language used ... to avoid stigmatisation and victim blaming,”

and it pointed out that weight stigma is often a

“barrier to participation and access to services ... Participation opportunities in relation to the production of the good food plans should be mindful of this and take steps to ensure this is eliminated from production of the good food plans”.

Given the range of stakeholders with an interest in good food plans, it is important that any consultation is comprehensive, so my amendment 11 sets out a range of interests that must be included. Of course, it would be open to the Government to add to that in any consultation, so it is by no means restrictive. It is important that the bill goes beyond saying that consultation should simply be with those the Scottish ministers consider to be appropriate.

I move amendment 4.

Convener, I share your frustration that, just weeks before the bill is likely to become law, we still do not have a clear answer from the Government on a food commission, which should be a fundamental part of the bill. Let us be honest: the reason for that is that the SNP and Greens have not yet come to an agreement on it. There has been no effort by the Government to consult other parties or discuss this important issue, despite the fact that, overwhelmingly, stakeholders are of the view that it should be a major part of the bill.

However, at this stage, I will not move my amendment. If it helps you to know this, convener, I will not move any of my amendments in this group, right through to amendment 103.

I very much believe that the discussions to which the cabinet secretary has committed would have benefited from having something in the bill to discuss rather than the blank page that we currently have. I hope that the discussions will be genuine and across all parties and that we seek to come to a consensus, which will require compromise by the Government. We owe that to the stakeholders who believe that a food commission should be a fundamental part of the bill. We must ensure that we get it right.

I will not move amendment 83, but I reserve the right to bring the provisions back at stage 3. I hope that that will not be necessary, and I think that we can reach a consensus on this important issue.

Amendment 83 not moved.

Amendments 86 to 103 not moved.

Section 13 agreed to.

Section 14—Other defined expressions

Amendment 27 moved—[Mairi Gougeon]—and agreed to.

Amendment 58 moved—[Rachael Hamilton].