Chamber and committees

I will focus a little bit on school meals and early years nutrition. My colleagues have already ventured into those areas, as usually happens in such discussions, but I am interested in the issue of breastfeeding, which the plan mentions briefly and only in relation to policies that we already have in place. Could the plan be a little bit more ambitious in that area by promoting the clear benefits of breastfeeding, where it is possible for mother and baby, as it helps prevent obesity, control infection and promote healthy gut bacteria?

I also wonder whether explicitly mentioning breastfeeding more in the plan might help local authorities and health and social care partnerships when they are developing their own plans, because they might have to fund breastfeeding co-ordinators and provide support on the ground for mothers at a time when it can be really difficult to do so.

Does anybody else want to come in?

It is a very difficult issue. Even if you explore how you can leverage in planning, it is really difficult to control the environment outside the school.

Thank you. Those comments from both of you were helpful.

I also want to raise the issue of public procurement, which I know some of my colleagues have already touched on, and which we know is an important matter, if we think about our local suppliers and local food producers. As the plan points out, the legislation in question has been in place for more than 10 years now; indeed, it has been quite successful, and we have seen where those successes have been. There has been a lot of breaking up of the traditional procurement rules and regulations that we thought that we could never change. I have seen that happen in East Ayrshire, where I was previously deputy leader of the council and worked with the Soil Association on the food for life served here campaign.

My concern is about ensuring that we do not start to undo that good work. I worry that, when procurement rules are applied stringently, we might see contracts that were previously awarded to local suppliers suddenly not being awarded to them any more. I am not seeking to influence any procurement decisions that have been taken, but I wonder whether the Government is alive to the fact that the good work that has been in train and which has been used to change procurement approaches might be on a bit of shaky ground.

We are hearing stakeholder concerns that some of the tactics used by big tobacco have been used by the food industry to shape the plan as it is set out. I am concerned to know whether you feel that you have the balance right and how you are going to treat the competing demands from different parts of the sector.

I want to spend a bit of time focusing on school meals and early years nutrition. By early years nutrition, I am talking about those who are in early years settings, but I also want to go right back to the beginning and start with breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is mentioned in the plan but really only in terms of existing policies. I wonder whether the plan could be a little more ambitious in promoting the clear benefits of breastfeeding, where it is possible for the mother and baby, for the prevention of obesity and infection control. We also know that it promotes healthy gut bacteria. When the local plans are created, could they be a driver for ensuring that there is a support network for mothers who are going to be breastfeeding in order to give that really early years intervention?

That is an important point. I have spoken previously about experiencing severe food insecurity as a child for more than a year and developing lifelong issues related to that. The effect of that cannot be overstated. We must consider the effect that that has on young people. Thank you very much for bringing the issue to our attention.

We have spoken a lot about school meals already, but I wonder whether free or discounted school meals should feature as an outcome in the plan or whether it should include indicators on such meals.

Over the summer, East Ayrshire Council, which is my local authority, gave us a report in which it mentioned that it has trialled a half-price meal deal for secondary school children. I used to chair the Association for Public Service Excellence soft facilities management group, which was devoted to, among other things, catering in schools, and I know that the secondary school market has always been difficult. The council has created a school meal deal. That will sound like convenience food to some individuals, but the approach fits the food environment in which those young people live. If they can get a school meal deal for £1.25 versus what is being offered on the local high street, the uptake will increase—and the food is healthy. Are there indicators covering such things in the plan?

I see that Lindsay Jaacks is nodding. Do you want to comment?

Thank you.

One of the issues that struck me was that there is not enough awareness of VoiceAbility, which is an organisation that is directly engaged on supporting claimants who use Social Security Scotland. What work has been undertaken to address the gap in awareness of that service?

Good morning. I am interested in SCoSS’s first report on the implementation of the social security charter. The report speaks to the many positive interactions that individuals have with Social Security Scotland, but it focuses on the issues of individuals who have communication needs and how those needs are being looked after. Will you comment on some of the significant issues that the report raises and on your interactions with Social Security Scotland and the Scottish Government to address the report’s seven recommendations?