Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act

In short, the GFN (Scotland) Act is a legislative framework which provides an integrated, statutory governance structure designed to drive food systems transformation in Scotland. It creates a statutory requirement for the production, publication, and evaluation schedule for national, and associated local, Good Food Nation plans including biannual reporting and 5 yearly reviews. It requires Scottish Minsters (and relevant authorities) to have regard to those Good Food Nation Plans when carrying out myriad other specified functions and statutory duties^[1][2].

Relevant authorities are defined within the legislation as Health Boards (14 territorial) and Local Authorities with all 46 required to produce local good food nation plans within 12 months of the date that Section 10 of the Act has been formally commenced. There is also provision in the Act for additional specified public authorities to be added in the future if deemed appropriate^[2].

The national and local GFN plans are required to set out (a) the main outcomes in relation to food-related issues, which Scottish Ministers and relevant authorities want achieved; (b) the indicators, or other measures by which progress towards achieving the outcomes, will be measured; (c) the policies Scottish Ministers and relevant authorities intend to pursue to deliver the outcomes, and measure progress; and (d) their plans for ensuring that implementation of the policies are informed by the food business sector^[2]. After extensive parliamentary debate and scrutiny, no explicit targets and/or indicators of progress were included in the final GFN (Scotland) Act.

The GFN (Scotland) Act requires that Scottish Minsters and relevant authorities must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to a number of issues when developing their GFN plans^[2],in particular but not limited to:

1. Social and Economic Wellbeing;
2. the Environment, including in particular in relation to (a) Climate Change and (b) Wildlife and the Natural Environment;
3. Health and Physical and Mental Welling (health and social care);
4. Economic Development;
5. Animal Welfare;
6. Education; and
7. Child Poverty.

The legislation also places a duty on Scottish Ministers and relevant authorities to have regard to a set of high-level principles when developing their local plans and discharging allied duties (e.g. school food provision)^[2]:

• The fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food;
• The role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to the mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing loss of biodiversity, and improving animal welfare;
• The ability of high quality, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people;
• The fact that adequate food is a human right and essential to the realisation of other human rights; and
• The importance of the food business sector to be a thriving part of the Scottish economy, having resilient supply chains, operating with fair work standards, and contributing to resilient local economics across Scotland.

Critically, it makes formal provision for (1) the establishment, staffing, and resourcing of a new independent, statutory Scottish Food Commission and (2) essential parliamentary scrutiny and other consultative processes. These provisions should remove the political jeopardy that has beset previous Scottish food policy attempts by placing statutory requirements for national and local GFN plans and reducing ministerial discretion over how food policy is planned, delivered, and evaluated in Scotland.

The new independent statutory Scottish Food Commission will be led by a Chief Executive (and secretariat), a publicly appointed Chair (Dennis Overton was appointed as Chair in August 2024) and up to four commissioners. In exercising its functions, it will not be subject to the direction or control of any member of the Scottish Government. It will have strong powers of (1) oversight and scrutiny for tracking and evaluating progress towards stated GFN outcomes and (2) making formal recommendations to Scottish ministers and relevant authorities regarding plans (and associated actions and progress) it considers relevant to delivering the GFN vision, principles, agreed outcomes, and published national and local GFN Plans^[2].

A draft National Good Food Nation Plan was published by the Scottish Government in January 2024. It underwent a 12-week public consultation (ending April 2024) with a report on the consultation published in October 2024. A revised draft National Good Food Nation plan is expected to be laid before the Scottish Parliament for statutory parliamentary scrutiny in early/mid 2025. Further revisions will be made once parliamentary scrutiny is completed with the final 1st National Good Food Nation Plan expected to be published late 2025 alongside the formal launch of the new statutory Scottish Food Commission. Relevant authority Good Food Nation plans will follow in due course.