The Rural Affairs and Islands Committee looked at the draft Good Food Nation (Specified Functions and Descriptions) (Scottish Ministers) Regulations 2025 at its meeting on 3 December 2025.
The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2021 sets out that:
The draft regulations set out the Scottish Government’s proposals for the specified functions or specified description.
The first national good food nation plan was published on 17 December. These regulations were laid in time to come into effect at the same time the plan was published.
Read the first national good food nation plan
The Scottish Government consulted on the draft specified functions and descriptions between January and April 2024 and then published an analysis of responses to the consultation.
Read the Scottish Government's consultation
Read the analysis of the Scottish Government's consultation
The Committee considered the draft regulations at its meeting on 3 December 2025. The Committee took evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and then decided, by division, not to agree to recommend to Parliament that the draft regulations be approved.
The Scottish Government subsequently confirmed it would withdraw the draft regulations. The Scottish Government confirmed it intends to continue engaging with stakeholders and to re-lay revised draft regulations in the next parliamentary session.
The Committee held a call for views to inform its scrutiny of the Good Food Nation (Specified Functions and Descriptions) (Scottish Ministers) Regulations 2025.
The call for views closed on 21 November 2025.
The draft regulations were discussed at the following Committee meeting:
The Committee has sent and received the following correspondence:
Letter from the Scottish Food Commission, 10 December 2025
Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, 25 November 2025
Letter to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, 10 November 2025