Chamber and committees

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in support of what is one of the most important pieces of legislation that we will pass during this parliamentary session.

As WWF Scotland has pointed out, the way in which we currently produce and consume food represents one of the biggest drivers of the climate and nature emergencies that we face across the globe.

This legislation will be an important foundation to support and advance existing Scottish Government commitments on health and wellbeing, including the extension of free school meals and the halving of childhood obesity from its current rate of 29 per cent by 2030.

Obesity Action Scotland advised that healthy food can cost up to three times as much in deprived areas. The poorest one fifth of households need to spend 40 per cent of their disposable income to eat healthily, as opposed to just 7 per cent for the richest one fifth. Making good food affordable and accessible will be a primary objective of the good food nation plans that the Scottish Government and local authorities will be obliged to produce.

I note my sympathy with Monica Lennon’s amendments that related to the extension of the free school meals provision and the incorporation of UNCRC article 24 into Scots law. That article states that children and young people have the right to high-quality, nutritious food.

The Scottish Government will extend the free school meals provision from all primary 1 to 5 children to all children in primary and special schools during this parliamentary session. That is a significant commitment, with funding identified to deliver it. Further extension would require funding to be identified from a fixed budget. However, it is an ambition worthy of serious consideration should our future circumstances as a nation change.

The Scottish Government has made clear that it is committed to incorporating the UNCRC into all Scotland’s laws, within the limits of devolution. In the meantime, it is significantly increasing funding for child poverty and children’s rights-related action. I look forward to an update on work on incorporating UNCRC at the earliest opportunity.

Just as the food that we eat is fundamental to our health and wellbeing, the bill has the potential to underpin a range of policies from healthy eating and equality of access to good food to meaningful improvements in school meals and hospital catering, and from supporting local food producers and food production to taking responsibility for how our food system impacts on the environment. Those outcomes are urgently required. That is why organisations such as the Trussell Trust, Glasgow Community Food Network, Nourish Scotland, the Soil Association, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and many others have campaigned so hard and so effectively for this legislation.

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s acceptance of the amendment from Ariane Burgess, which requires the establishment of a Scottish food commission to oversee preparation and implementation of the plan.

Evie Murray, the founder and chief executive officer of Leith-based charity Earth in Common and long-term member of the Scottish Food Coalition, pointed out that

“It is very significant that the Scottish Government has recognised the importance of an independent food commission to oversee the implementation of the Good Food Nation Bill. Without it, the bill would have been toothless—not a good thing when it comes to food!”

Evie went on to say:

“With such a commission, Scotland is setting an example to the rest of the world. I believe that this cross-cutting, commission-backing legislation will produce multiple benefits for the people of Scotland and that other countries will follow suit.”

I thank the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for bringing the debate to the chamber and for the report that it published in May on its inquiry into the health and wellbeing of young people across the nation, which covered a wide range of important issues.

As we continue on our trajectory to making Scotland the best place for a child to grow up in, it is important to reflect on the critical work that is currently under way and to speak frankly about the many challenges that we face in getting there.

In Scotland, and in every country, poverty and social inequality are complex and multifaceted. They relate to much more than just income. Amnesty International’s former secretary general, Irene Khan, sums them up as being about

“economic and social rights, insecurity, discrimination, exclusion and powerlessness.”

In the committee’s report, there is worrying evidence of the growing impact of the cost of living crisis on our children and young people. Bill Scott, the chair of the Poverty and Inequality Commission, highlights the fact that

“Control over the vast majority of means-tested benefits, which are the most effective way of delivering support to lowincome families, is held at the UK Government level.”—[Official Report, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 31 May 2022; c 26]

If memory serves me correctly, the Conservatives are more concerned with cuts than with offering meaningful support to people who are most in need.

New research published by Action for Children sheds light on the devastating impact of the recent cuts to universal credit. Analysis of the charity’s crisis fund, which provided emergency grants for food, utilities and other essentials to people in difficulty, found that more than half of the grants that were issued were awarded to those who were already receiving universal credit, suggesting that the payment is falling well below what is needed to meet even the most basic living costs. Among the appalling statistics are stories of keyworkers—who are doing all that they can to help—finding children arriving at school with chilblains on their feet because their house was so cold, or helping a single mother of two who, despite working 37 hours a week as a finance officer, still needed food vouchers to feed her family at Christmas.

By contrast—and as stated by the cabinet secretary to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee—in its never-ending attempt to mitigate the ripple effect of Tory austerity, the Scottish Government has worked hard to strengthen the financial support that is available for low-income families across the early years. The Scottish Government’s package of five family benefits includes the best start grant, best start foods and the Scottish child payment, which was doubled to £20 per week per child in April this year, all of which was achieved as part of the SNP Government’s first tackling child poverty delivery plan.

However, social security alone is not sufficient to tackle inequality. It is crucial to recognise the indisputable link between deprivation and poor mental health and how that, in turn, impacts on young people’s ability to thrive and reach their full potential. The millennium cohort study shows that poorer children are four times more likely to develop mental health problems by the age of 11 than children in higher-income families, not to mention the physical and emotional strain that living in poverty places on parents, causing feelings of shame and embarrassment that invariably filter through to their kids and can alter family dynamics.

Professor Hazel Borland, from NHS Ayrshire and Arran, touched on those feelings in her evidence to the committee:

“Poverty is incredibly stigmatising for families because it reduces choice. It reduces options and means that a child, young person or family cannot say yes to things that they might want to say yes to. Therefore, their world becomes much narrower”—[Official Report, Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, 11 January 2022; c 17.]

and they begin to view themselves through a very limiting lens.

In the light of those points, I was pleased to see that the Scottish Government’s mental health transition and recovery plan is backed by a £120 million recovery and renewal fund over 2021-22. That represents the single largest investment in mental health in the history of devolution, as colleagues have mentioned.

I also welcome the additional £15 million that has been provided to local authorities to deliver locally based mental health and wellbeing support for five to 24-year-olds in their communities, and the announcement of £5 million of funding for see me—the national programme to eliminate mental health stigma and discrimination.

As we look forward, and as part of the wider effort to ensure that children can flourish here, in Scotland, I join the committee in calling on the Scottish Government to set out in greater detail how the new child poverty delivery plan will contribute to improving the health and wellbeing of children and young people who currently live in poverty and to commission further research on the prevalence of mental health conditions among children and young people, so that we can build a better picture and allocate resources most effectively while remaining cognisant of the fact that prevention and early intervention are key.

No child should be going to school hungry or battling the stigma that goes with that. I look forward to the progress that we will make together as a country.

The cost of living crisis is squeezing every household in Scotland, none more so than those on low and moderate incomes. In these difficult times, does the minister believe that mid-market rent can play an even greater role in the affordable housing supply programme, offering an alternative route for tenants?

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s update and the next stage of crucial reform that she has set out today, particularly the commitment to put the voices of our young people at the heart of that reform. The cabinet secretary will agree that we must provide assurances to learners that the process will deliver real and meaningful change. What assurances can the cabinet secretary provide of her personal commitment to delivering just that?

As someone with 30 years of experience as a teacher, I would like to celebrate the hard work of teachers and our young people in all their endeavours. I know from recent discussions with teachers and local police that staff are building relationships with the most vulnerable young people in our society and intervening early to build confidence and increase engagement with the curriculum, thereby increasing achievement.

Although it is a shame that Mr Rennie appears to have forgotten the commitment that he made at the 2020 Lib Dem conference to put teachers in charge, will the cabinet secretary assure the chamber that this Government is committed to empowering teachers to use PEF to best meet the needs of the young people in their schools?

I thank all my colleagues for their powerful contributions. I am especially grateful to Bill Kidd for lodging such a detailed motion, which highlights the disproportionate impact of trafficking on women and children.

It should be noted that, when drilling down into the demographics of the victims of trafficking and piecing together the names and faces of those who have been abused and traded as commodities, we find that a disproportionate number are minority ethnic women and girls. Our hearts go out to them as they face unimaginable situations of fear and abuse, and I take this opportunity to highlight their plight.

The motion refers to the Scottish Government’s stated commitment to criminalising the purchasing of sex. That commitment was first made following the passing of the bill that became the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015. During the passage of that legislation, it was highlighted that removing the financial incentive for those who organise the sale of sex leads to a reduction in demand among those who buy sex. That should be an essential part of any strategy to tackle human trafficking effectively. It is now seven years since that law was passed, so I hope that the minister will give us an update on the timetable for delivering on that commitment.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 2.5 million people have now fled Ukraine since Russia’s invasion. In a report in April 2022 by the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner and University College London, Dr Laura Wood noted that Ukraine has hosted students from across Africa, Asia and the middle east for many years. Since the war began, those who have not managed to return home have faced

“racism, discrimination”

and

“segregation within refugee responses”.

Many of them are desperate and at considerable risk of exploitation by traffickers as they seek to find a way to escape the war, complete their qualifications or return home. It is a truly dire situation.

The overrepresentation of ethnic minorities among the victims of trafficking has played out in countries all over the world. In the US, between 2008 and 2010, 40 per cent of identified victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation were black. That compares with 13 per cent in relation to the general population. A 2012 study of online sex buyers in the United States found that 85 per cent of buyers were white. That highlights the clear racial disparities between buyers and victims.

Although the data might be sobering, it is the stories that truly resonate. Each one is too familiar and too harrowing to forget. For example, Renata’s story—Renata is not her name—has been highlighted by the Medaille Trust. Renata was a law student from Latin America who was offered a job in Italy and was told that she would be working in a restaurant and could earn money while continuing her education. She arrived safely, but traffickers were waiting for her. She was abducted, raped and forced into prostitution. That lasted for years until she finally escaped. She provided evidence about her experience to the Italian police, thinking that she was now safe, but, unfortunately, the traffickers found her and the abuse continued.

Although Renata’s story is now one of hope—ultimately, she managed to get help through the Medaille Trust and was able to get back into education—it gives us a devastating insight into the experiences of those who are consumed by this abhorrent trade.

The global situation that we are in is entirely unacceptable. With annual profits from the sexual exploitation of trafficking victims totalling more than £100 billion, we need to act urgently to effectively deter those who seek to capitalise on the degradation and dehumanisation of vulnerable women and children.

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the diversity in the teaching profession Scotland annual data report, published in May, which states that there is a continued chronic and disproportionate lack of minority ethnic teachers in Scotland’s schools. (S6O-01206)

I welcome the cabinet secretary’s response.

The statistics are stark. In 2017, only 1.2 per cent of primary teachers and 2.1 per cent of secondary teachers were from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities. By 2021, those figures had risen to only 1.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively. The figures for promoted posts—primary principal teachers, deputes and head teachers—are even more concerning. In 2017, only 0.4 per cent of such posts in primary schools and 0.8 per cent of such posts in secondary schools were from BAME communities, and in 2021, those numbers rose by only 0.2 per cent to 0.6 per cent and by 0.1 per cent to 0.9 per cent respectively.

Will the cabinet secretary join me in calling on local authorities as employers to actively explore positive action measures, as allowed under the Equality Act 2010, to address underrepresentation, particularly at senior levels? Measures could include initiatives such as the current pilot project by Glasgow City Council to support five acting PT roles for BAME teachers.

To ask the First Minister whether she will provide an update on the Scottish Government’s supersponsor scheme for displaced Ukrainians. (S6F-01203)

It continues to be the case that local authorities that welcome displaced people through the Ukraine family scheme receive no funding at all from the UK Government, and even the £10,500 per person under the homes for Ukraine scheme is not much, considering all the provisions that need to be put in place to support those who are seeking refuge. Will the First Minister urge the UK Government to urgently put in place appropriate financial support for all local authorities, no matter what scheme people have arrived through, to ensure that those who are settling here can have all their needs met?