Chamber and committees

Before we come to the end of our session, I want to pick up on a couple of points that have been mentioned already.

Remedy and justice will look different for different people. For some people, taking a court challenge is the route that they wish to explore, but it might be that a remedy would also require non-legal routes. I am keen to hear the panel’s thoughts on what kind of non-legal routes would be open to people who wish to challenge any breaches. I will start with Dr Webster.

So, it needs to be flexible, adaptable and responsive. I get that.

That is very helpful.

A lot of people, including people with lived experience, might not have a concept of what dignity is. If they have lived without dignity, their expectations—if they have any at all—are going to be different. How would the participatory process ensure that people with lived experience understand what dignity is and live with dignity? Who monitors that? Dr Webster, I think that that question is for you.

I would always agree with that. The more we invest in our local producers, the better.

Every single member of this place will have grown up being taught about where their food comes from, whether that be through rhymes about Old MacDonald and his farm, about Little Bo-Peep, who lost her sheep, or about Mary and her little lamb, and let us not forget my favourite—“The Jeely Piece Song”. Unless young adults choose to pursue courses in home economics, hospitality or nutrition, our education about food seems to come to something of a stop after second year in high school.

In adult life, it is harder to make healthier and more sustainable food choices, particularly when the opposite of that is the more affordable option. In a cost of living crisis, that is a bit of an outrage. We must make healthier and more sustainable choices, and making better choices does not stop at what we buy and eat; it is also about how much we waste.

Do I have time, Presiding Officer?

The First Minister will understand that people’s lives have been put on hold and that some people are at the end of their tether. Local authorities are asking for building warrants for remediation work and developers are putting safety measures in place that are severely imposing on the lives of people who live in those buildings, but many residents and constituents of mine feel that remediation is not moving quickly enough.

My constituents just want their lives back. What further measures can the Scottish Government take to further encourage local authorities and developers to work co-operatively to remove unsafe cladding from these buildings more quickly?

To ask the First Minister whether he will provide an update on the work of the Scottish Government to address potentially dangerous cladding on residential properties. (S6F-02113)

Small businesses are the beating heart of Glasgow’s economy and culture. My constituency is home to the Subversion gallery, which is located in the west end. As a small business, it is eligible for the small business bonus scheme, the benefits of which I know have been a lifesaver to many businesses across the country. Will the minister confirm how many Glasgow small businesses are eligible for the scheme and how much that has invested back into Glasgow’s economy?

Climate change and global population growth are often cited as major challenges to ensuring that our food supply is sustainable. Africa remains the most affected by the climate crisis, with rainfall increasing by around 30 per cent in wet regions and decreasing by 20 per cent in dry regions, which is a potent formula for failing crops and agriculture. To date, the African continent has experienced a 34 per cent overall drop in agricultural productivity as a result of climate change, according to the United Nations. However, it is not just on moral grounds that that should worry us, as we import fruits, vegetables, coffee and chocolate.

I thank the member for bringing that up. I remember the debate that was led by Stephen Kerr on gene editing, which I believe referred to potatoes and lemons. I will come back to that.

As well as fruits, vegetables, coffee and chocolate, we import fish—yes, fish—beef and nuts, to name but a few, from Africa. That is at a time when the United Nations predicts that the global population will increase to 9.7 billion people by 2050. I remind members that we are in 2023, and that is only 27 years away—some of us will be around for that. We are faced with more people and less food to feed them. We must sustain a healthy earth so that our earth can sustain a healthy us.

Added to the challenges that we face on food security across Scotland and the rest of the UK, as my colleagues have mentioned, is a hard Brexit that we did not vote for and do not want. The Centre for Economic Performance has confirmed that Brexit has caused the cost of EU food imports to increase by 6 per cent over a two-year period, in addition to global events that have caused many commodities to skyrocket in price. If we are having a serious discussion about future food sustainability, then aligning ourselves much more closely to our European neighbours, breaking down trade barriers and reversing Brexit must always remain on the table.

There are lessons that we can learn from our European partners, too. The European green deal has a farm to fork strategy at its centre. Like Scotland’s good food nation approach, it acknowledges that food sustainability is tackling climate change and that tackling climate change is promoting good food sustainability. Importing and exporting food and drink is our country’s past, present and future but, importantly, we must change our attitudes about where our food comes from. The nearer the farm is to the fork, the more sustainable that is by far as a way to keep our nation fed.

As I was previously a teacher, members would expect me to say that I firmly believe that education is the key to making healthy and sustainable choices about food. When people understand where their food comes from and when they develop an affinity with it, they make healthier choices about their consumption.