As part of her secondment, and ahead of the Parliamentary scrutiny (1st-30th September 2025) of the first Proposed National Good Food Nation Plan, Claire wrote two guest blogs aimed at giving elected members and their parliamentary teams some background about the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act (27th June, 2025) and updates on what has happened since. Indeed, the Scottish Parliament’s role in developing of Scotland’s food policy did not stop with the passing of the GFN Bill in June 2022. The Scottish Government was mandated to lay the proposed 1st National Good Food Nation plan before the Scottish Parliament by a deadline of 30th June 2025 for a minimum of 30 sitting days. Scottish Government must respond to any recommendations made by the parliamentary Committees who have considered the plan in advance of publishing the 1st National Good Food Nation plan by the end of 2025.
Claire’s first blog introduces the main principles of the GFN Act providing a brief summary of recent research around food systems. It explains why systems approaches are increasingly presented as a solution to the interconnected challenges linked to food production and consumption. It also explores how Scotland is attempting to use this innovate piece of legislation to drive a more systemic approach to food policy.
Her second blog gives an overview of recent developments in food policy more broadly, covering Scotland and the rest of the UK. It reflects on the publication of Scotland’s Population Health Framework for instance, and how this may be connected to the Good Food Nation vision, whilst also introducing the latest food strategies published in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.