Chamber and committees

Things were getting a bit heated, so I will not, at the moment.

For me, the Glasgow Food and Climate Declaration was a significant output from COP26, placing food and local action at the heart of our climate emergency response. Almost 90 subnational Governments have signed up to the declaration, which seeks to tackle the climate emergency through developing integrated food policies.

Scotland is one of the signatories to the Glasgow declaration, and I am delighted that South Lanarkshire Council is one of seven Scottish local authorities to sign up to it. That is great news for Uddingston and Bellshill residents across my constituency.

Beyond the Glasgow declaration, our Scottish Government has in train a series of interventions that provide opportunities to transform our food systems and respond to our environmental challenge. Central to the Government’s response is the overarching Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill, which will see national and local government creating good food nation plans, which will deliver local responses that are underpinned by national policy imperatives. Although supporting the environment is key, there are broader benefits to health, social and economic wellbeing.

I share the anxiety of many climate activists that COP26 has been big on promises but less clear on delivery. It is vital that nations transparently report on progress as food systems are redesigned, and I welcome the Scottish Government’s intention to publish progress reports against our good food nation plan every two years. COP26 activists rightly highlighted that transparency is critical to accelerating responses to combat climate change.

By continuing to work collaboratively with our world-class farming sector—Scottish farming is rightly renowned for its sustainable approach—we can co-produce solutions that provide us all with affordable access to local produce. With Scotland’s strong foundations, we can reimagine our food system. Harvesting more local, organic and plant-based produce is achievable. I trust that we can harness our collective will, and reputation for innovation, to make that happen.

School students from across Lanarkshire have already lobbied me about the lack of sustainable vegetarian and vegan options in school canteens. I hear them and I agree with them. We must work harder to increase balanced plant-based food options and to offer more local produce.

As discussed at COP26, the Scottish Government is delivering policies and interventions that place food at the heart of our responses to tackle inequalities. Extending free school meals and best start food grants confirms Scotland’s focus on improving peoples’ wellbeing, while reducing harmful emissions and nature loss. Our councils are already spending around £65 million a year on food supplies.

COP26 can either be a turning point for how our global food system works, or it can turn out to be nothing more than a two-week jamboree for world leaders and celebrities. We owe it to our grandchildren—and their children—that it is the former. I look forward to Scotland leading the global response as a good food nation.

I, too, thank Foysol Choudhury for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

The global food system is not only a victim of climate change; it is one of the world’s main polluters. WWF has said that

“Food production is one of the biggest threats to our planet”.

It has a point—food systems are responsible for 60 per cent of global nature loss and more than one third of total greenhouse gas emissions.

COP26 rightly focused on important topics such as deforestation and emissions, but I was disappointed that the impact of food systems on climate change was less prominent. Fortunately, food was on the menu during many of the round-table discussions, and although food presents a threat with regard to climate change, it presents global opportunities, too. As Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council noted recently,

“Food is the point where climate change and health come together.”

That connection between food systems, climate change and inequality is why I will always champion Scotland becoming a good food nation.

I ask the other witnesses to say whether they support advocacy, and I ask Ramon whether there is evidence of it happening on the ground, either locally or more widely, including internationally.

Convener, do you want me to mention the Morgan report while we are discussing this topic, or do you want to pick that up later on?

That is fine. Important points have been made about poverty and its impacts.

Thank you all for coming along today. I want to ask you about advocacy services, which Ramon Hutchingson brought up. Fergus Ewing talked about the struggles that parents can have, and, as a parent myself, I have seen the parent-carer stuff coming through. The Morgan report backs that up as well, identifying that everything can be an on-going battle. Sometimes, parents can be seen as aggressive or demanding when they are actually at the end of their tether and are just trying to get something to happen for their child. Also, some parents suffer some of the anxiety and communication issues that their children have, but they are undiagnosed.

The Morgan report said that, quite often, the children with the most disruptive behaviours get the attention at school and the other children get ignored. There is often a situation in which the strengths of children with complex needs are not recognised but there are difficulties with the struggles and challenges of children who are very high functioning being recognised as well. They are quite often minimised.

For those reasons, advocacy seems to be an important factor. Ramon, do you have any evidence of that happening locally? I also wonder whether the other panel members support advocacy and agree that it should play a big part.

Do the other panel members agree that advocacy should play a big part in that regard?

Thank you. That was really helpful.

I am also interested in the balance of risks, because crisis is often very much a part of life for the children we are talking about. Existing distressed behaviours and anxieties have been exacerbated by the situation. We have had to balance risks to children’s mental health and wellbeing against the threat to life and to their physical health from spreading infection. Did we strike the balance somewhere in the middle or was it way off?

I am thinking about the positive things that were mentioned—some young people being able to engage better, red tape being cut for those who perhaps struggle with mainstream school, digital access being provided for non-attenders, and the opening of doors to creativity. Linda O’Neill talked about the doorstep arts sessions. Balanced against that is the idea that it was a bit of a lottery, depending on where people live, but cutting red tape opened the door to opportunities. I am interested to hear about any other positive things.

What do you see as being the priorities going forward, with regard to learning from experience and incorporating that in policy? That is quite a big question that goes first to Linda O’Neill.

I am just writing down little important points that Linda O’Neill made, or they will go out of my head—including targeted support for children in the area that she mentioned. I declare that I am a councillor on South Lanarkshire Council. I am also a parent to autistics.

This might be in the committee papers, so I apologise if I have missed it. What proportion of the children who went to hubs were vulnerable? The hubs also provided childcare for the children of emergency workers and key workers, such as our national health service workers, because they and their partners were not at home to look after their children. What are the statistics on that? I am not sure which witness might know the answer to that.

Although two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine will not fully prevent transmission of the virus, I have viewed a range of evidence that full vaccination lowers the risk of passing on the virus and of developing serious complications and/or requiring hospitalisation. Does the cabinet secretary agree that the vaccination certification scheme provides greater reassurance to many members of the public who are considering attending venues or large-scale events that are covered by the scheme?