by Eleanor Forster
With the publication of the first National Good Food Nation Plan just before the winter break, things are now officially set in motion for our Council and Health Board to begin developing a Local Good Food Nation Plan for Highland.
After many years of tireless campaigning from third sector bodies such as the Scottish Food Coalition, it’s exciting to see this important idea begin to come to fruition at the highest level: that food is a vital piece in improving everyone’s lives in Scotland and protecting our environment for generations to come and that to do so it is imperative to take account of the food system as a whole.
For those of you who contributed to our process of consultation on the draft plan in 2024, you’ll know that there were some glaring omissions and ambiguities in the original. So how does the new plan compare? And why does it matter?
Just in case you don’t have time to digest all 85 pages with accompanying appendices and supporting analytical publications, I’ve done my best to try and summarise and bring out some points pertinent to Highland (with the caveat that I’m no policy expert!). For those who want even less info, just head to the final sum up section, but if you’re after more detail (or to make your own opinion) you can find the full documents on the Scottish Government website.
The National Good Food Nation Plan:
Part 1 provides an overview of the current state of the food system in Scotland. The following descriptions of a vision of a Good Food Nation from various perspectives provide a simplified and inspiring picture of where such a policy could lead us. There’s nothing to disagree with here – it’s important to have a shared vision for a better future food system as the Scottish Government, Local Authorities and Health Boards begin working with this document to write plans, but also as a filter for their normal duties.
I was impressed with a new section on inequalities, putting it at the forefront of this work – describing the breadth, importance and intersection of how inequalities affect players within the food system.
Part 2 sets out the 6 GFN outcomes. These have changed slightly since the draft plan and in summary cover the following:
A better food environment
A sustainable food system
A healthy population
A strong food and drink sector
A thriving food culture
Global impact
The intention is that the outcomes will be used as a ‘cohesive set’ to ensure that local and national government can use them to ensure that any food-related policy work is placed within the context of the whole system, having regard for all angles and players.
Part 3 covers the measuring of progress. Sensibly, the ‘numbers’ part of this is in a separate analytical publication – very interesting for some, deadly dull to others. It’s worth mentioning the work that is going on behind the scenes by the GFN Living Lab to turn this indicator framework into a useful, evolving dashboard platform to allow LA areas to see how they match up to Scotland as a whole and track progress.
As with the draft plan, there are holes in this Initial Monitoring Framework – they can only use existing targets and data – but it’s great to have it overtly recognised that there are evidence gaps and that this is an evolving framework. There is no set of GFN time-bound targets, though, only those involved as part of existing initiatives.
Part 4 sets out the ‘policy landscape’ as I think it’s called. It does a good job of presenting it to someone like myself who has generally managed to avoid being involved in policy. Divided into three sections – People and Communities, Providers & Places, Farmers, Food Producers & Processors – it reads like another vision section, prompting me to look up a definition of ‘policy’ (statement of the government’s position, intent or action). There’s lots of useful links to relevant documents and initiatives that are now on my to-read list, so this new plan is definitely ticking the box of gathering related information into one place so someone new to food systems thinking can get a good overview of relevant policy.
In the Conclusion, it is made clear that this is the first generation of GFN plans, and that there’s much work still to be done. There’s a specific mention of ‘the valuable work already started by third sector, community bodies and other organisations’ which is welcome, especially in the light of incredible work done by volunteers in food insecurity.
It’s great to see all the right buzzwords in this document: ‘right to food’ ‘partnership working’ ‘regenerative’ ‘dignity’ ‘food waste’ and more. I couldn’t find any mention of supermarkets, but perhaps the stronger focus on food environments is to cover that in a non-confrontational way.
One of the biggest criticisms of the draft plan was that it wasn’t a plan – just a vision along with a list of existing food-related policies. Unfortunately, in my opinion, that criticism still stands – although the new plan provides a strong vision of where we want to get to, and a clearer presentation of how existing initiatives and policies fit with each other within that vision and other related frameworks it still lacks time-defined goals or rigorous success criteria. We know where we want to get to, we (sort of) know where we are, but we don’t have a clear map of next steps and staged goals. I worry that without better leadership from the Scottish Government in taking new actions, much of the work is being left to the Relevant Authorities (Local Authority and Health Board) to make the vision reality, with (so far) minimal guidance and resource.
To sum up, the new National Good Food Nation Plan is a definite improvement on the draft, with a strong vision of a sustainable food future for Scotland and a more coherent presentation of the existing policy landscape relevant to food. It’s got all the right buzzwords, and it’s a useful place to learn more about what our Government is doing around food. Does this plan have the detail and strength to lead us as a nation into that vision? Probably not. It’s a good first step in creating a systems-context for policy related to food, but the lack of a clear time-bound framework of goals means that there is a real risk that this could become mostly a paper exercise. It’s a huge win that the GFN has the legal clout of legislation. Its statement, that ministers must ‘have regard’ to the plan when making decisions does raise the question of what that actually means in terms of action, let alone the food system transformation we desperately need?
Whatever the gaps and difficulties, the bottom line is that having food-system thinking built in at the highest level of our decision-makers is a welcome complement to the ongoing hard work of grassroots organisations, individuals and small businesses who push every day to improve our food system on the ground and make a sustainable food future for generations to come.
And what does all this mean for us in the Highlands?
Well, it does feel like we were taken into consideration when this plan was redrafted – there is now mention of rural inequalities and the role of geographical isolation in accessing good food. Our big industries of agriculture and fishing are part of the discussion, as well as the improvement of career desirability and access in the sector of food production. All important points.
Now that the National Plan is published, both the Highland Council and NHS Highland have a duty to develop, consult on and publish their own Local Good Food Plan (probably by the end of 2027) and review and renew it in line with the National schedule. A key question is, with what money? Any new initiative takes resource, so we’ll be waiting with bated breath until February when it’s likely we’ll hear what budget will be available from the Scottish Government to fund the Local Plans. I wonder if it’ll be enough to pay someone to do a good job of writing the plan, let alone then having resource to execute it…
On a more positive note, even before the new publication, the GFN process up to now has already reaped benefits – The GFN leads in Highland Council and NHS Highland are engaged, motivated and committed to working in partnership with HGFP and others to make the most of this opportunity. We’ve already done some good work together, joining dots and sharing learning and resources and I’m actually really excited to see where this process leads Highlands in terms of creating a strong partnership with players from across the food system.
We’ll be working with THC and NHSH to identify all the levers available to them, looking to find a balance of low-hanging fruit and flagship initiatives within the priorities laid out in the 6 outcomes, and discover synergies where impact can be more effective. In the next weeks, we’ll be meeting to consolidate a shared strategic vision between the two organisations, and continue to strengthen the bones of our partnership.
We’re so grateful to everyone who has supported Highland Good Food Partnership up to now and placed us in a position to make the most of this opportunity. As a food partnership with paid staff, we can help facilitate the link between stakeholders from all over the Highland food system, widening the impact of the GFN process. We are closely networked with food partnerships from across Scotland, and can learn from each other as we support and push our LAs to make this moment count.
We intend to make good use of this juncture when THC and NHSH are duty-bound to consider the Highland Food System, and work to place the specific duties and levers of those organisations within the wider needs and desires of our Highland farmers, crofters, communities and businesses. We’ll do our utmost to ensure that this doesn’t just end up as another paper on a shelf.
In the following weeks, we’ll be exploring what this plan means to us here in the Highlands in more detail, and as the work progresses, we want your voice to be heard loud and clear in the process of writing of a Good Food Nation Local Plan for Highland. In the meantime please get in touch if you’d like to be more involved: eleanor@highlandgoodfood.scot