Building connections and relationships
For the Living Good Food Nation Lab, the past year has all been about relationship building, resource development (Data Dashboard, Planning Toolkit and design of our Food Systems Thinking and Leadership executive education programme), hosting, speaking, and participating, in many events countrywide, and learning from, and immersing ourselves in, the processes, scrutiny and outputs which have fed into, and shaped, the 1st National Good Food Nation Plan published in December 2025.
In 2025, we have worked tirelessly to meet as many relevant authorities as possible (individually, in small geographically connected groups and as a collective) meeting each where they are at in their Good Food Nation journey, exploring with them how, going forward into the Local Good Food Nation Planning phase, we can help them practically, analytically, developmentally and procedurally. We have been very proactive in getting boots (including my famous Juicy Couture Wellies! (this is not a paid for product placement)) on the ground (physically and via Teams!) from hosting consortia meetings and workshops throughout Scotland, and convening spaces for different groups (including our Lead Good Food Nation Contacts network) to come together, get updates, meet each other virtually and share good practice.
Parliamentary scrutiny
The Living Good Food Nation Lab also contributed in multiple ways to the parliamentary scrutiny process for the Proposed National Good Food Nation Plan which was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 27 June 2025 and scrutinised by multiple parliamentary committees, in September 2025, after a frantic summer of planning. A full scrutiny process was undertaken by both the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee and Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee who issued calls for evidence in August 2025 and held oral evidence sessions in September 2025. The Rural and Island Affairs Committee, the parliamentary committee responsibility for the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act, advised parliament in April 2025 that they were unable to undertake a full scrutiny process due to other legislative demands and instead hosted a round table discussion with invited stakeholders. One of our research fellows, Dr Claire Perier is on a 12 month fellowship (one day a week – June 2025-June 2026) with the Scottish Parliamentary Information Centre (SPICe) as part of the team supporting this complex scrutiny process.
The secondary legislation1 relating to Specified Descriptions and Functions (the legislative teeth of the GFN Bill) was laid before parliament for scrutiny by the Rural Affairs and Island Committee in late October 2025. Following a call for views, and a robust scrutiny session by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in December 2025, where Mairi Geogeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands gave evidence, the proposed secondary legislation was withdrawn. It is expected to be re-laid before parliament and rescrutinised in Autumn 2026 when the new Parliament returns from summer recess. Hopefully this time around the process will be less bruising, the secondary legislation will pass and lessons will be learnt by all for the subsequent development of the companion secondary legislation for the Local Good Food Nation Plans.
Scottish Food Commission
Alongside the work of the Living Good Food Nation Lab, I made the exciting and terrifying decision to throw my hat in the ring to become one of the inaugural Scottish Food Commissioners. After a lengthy recruitment process, Mairi Geogeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, formally announced on 13 June 2025, that Professor Emilie Combet, Graeme Jack and myself had been appointed as Commissioners to the new Scottish Food Commission. We are joining the Chair, Denis Overton who had been in post, on his own, since August 2024! Emilie, Graeme and I officially started our terms of office together on Monday 16 June 2025 and since then we have been getting to know each other, and working slowly and steadily to get the Scottish Food Commission up and running.
Top of our list was appointing our 1st Chief executive. After a full recruitment process, Jayne Jones was appointed, and officially started on 5 January 2026. Jayne has hit the ground running and between now and Autumn 2026, she, with help from us four commissioners, will be focused on getting the organisation up and running, and developing, consulting on and launching our strategic plan, starting the process of recruiting our core staff, undertaking appropriate scrutiny and oversight work on the 1st National Good Food Nation Plan and revised secondary legislation, and providing support to relevant authorities as they move into their Good Food Nation planning and writing phase.
We have also contributed, in writing and via oral evidence to the parliamentary scrutiny processes of the Proposed National Good Food Nation Plan in September 2025 and the secondary legislation on Specified Functions and Descriptions laid before the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee in Oct 2025 focusing primarily on the process of scrutiny, relationship between Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament and broader issues of accountability, coherency and connection across allied policy areas. We also submitted a written response to the call for views on the secondary legislation in November 2025.
1st Nation Good Food Nation Plan for Scotland
As of the 17 December 2025, the 1st National Good Food Nation (GFN) Plan2 was published and the Living Good Food Nation Lab are actively engaging with, and making sense of, the content and framing of the published plan. We (and the 46 Relevant Authorities) are still awaiting formal confirmation of several key elements for next stages of the Good Food Nation planning journey:
- When the transfer of responsibilities to Relevant Authorities (via Section 10 of the GFN Bill) mandating them to develop their own plans will take place.
- Details of final agreed financial support that relevant authorities will receive to support the Local Good Food Nation planning work and when they will receive this.
- The revised timeframe that Relevant Authorities will have to produce their first GFN Plan.
We are all looking forward to the next leg in Scotland’s Good Food Nation Journey as the baton gets passed from National Government to our 46 relevant Authorities. There is great energy, passion, creativity, collaboration, and interest in the Good Food Nation Vision across Scotland and beyond. Harnessing all this will be key to the production of thoughtful, grounded, connected and forward-looking Good Food Nation Plans. The Living Good Food Nation Lab is looking forward to walking with, and supporting, all our relevant authorities as they take responsibility for, and start the process of, developing, producing, consulting, and approving their 1st Good Food Nation Plans.
1 The Good Food Nation (Specified Functions and Descriptions) (Scottish Ministers) Regulations 2025
2 1st National Good Food Nation (GFN) Plan
Mary Brennan is our Chair of Food Marketing and Society.