Chamber and committees

Robin Gourlay, on the figure that you quoted of 50 per cent of food in hospitals and schools being procured in Scotland, does that include imported food that is reconstituted, rebadged or processed in Scotland?

Before I let others come in on that question, I have another question for you. Do you believe that Scottish ministers will be able to set a plan with those policy outcomes and take that forward, given that section 7 passes the buck to local authorities? Will the policy outcomes that we are shaping be clear enough in the framework legislation to deliver what you have just outlined?

Geoff Ogle, with your FSS hat on, do you analyse food budgets? Is that a possibility? We know that food procurement is dominated by larger suppliers. Do you have the ability to gather that data from local authorities to work out where the money is being spent and how taxpayers’ money is being spent?

Yes. If a larger supplier is awarded a contract, is it analysed? For example, East Ayrshire Council awarded the tender for milk to Mossgeil Oganic Farm, but is the overall spend on food for school meals analysed? Do you have that ability or do local authorities do that?

It has been interesting to listen to what you have been saying. I have been considering how we can meet policy outcomes on all the issues, including the environmental and health targets that should, apparently, be achieved through the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill. The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 is an interesting example. It is framework legislation, but it goes on to set out plans to improve the lives of those who live in island communities. The committee will be looking at that.

I want to home in on what “good food nation” means. What does it mean to you, Mary Brennan?

I appreciate your warm words, but, for example, the answer to a parliamentary question of mine is that there are 12 female butchers in Scotland. Workforce planning has been left short by the Government.

The only policy divergence that you can foresee relates to direct payments.

What kinds of domestic policy choices do you want to make that the rest of the UK does not want to take? How will those affect Scottish farmers?

It would also be helpful for the committee if you could give us more examples of the financial implications that you talked about with regard to domestic policy decisions, in particular on direct payments, which you mentioned. Perhaps you could give us an insight into what you are thinking, because we are running out of time, without any future farm policy direction, as it were.

We need to get clarification on that, because my point was taken directly from Jonnie Hall’s evidence.