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Once section 10 is commenced, there is a 12-month timescale. It has not been commenced yet because of the discussions that we have been having with local authorities. It is fair to say that it has taken a lot of time and work for us to get to this stage, that is, to develop our existing proposed plan. Between that and our conversations with local authorities, which Tracy McCollin referred to, we have been trying to understand the level of resource that might be required and when it might be appropriate to trigger that section. It is only fair that we continue to have those discussions, because the last thing that we want is to trigger that part of the act and for people to feel that they do not have enough time to have their plans ready within that timescale. That is why that work is on-going and those conversations are continuing. We want to make sure that people feel that they have the resources and the time to introduce and develop the plans.

We will factor in all the points that you have raised when we are looking at when the appropriate time for the commencement of section 10 might be and in the discussions that we will have with local authorities. It is not in anyone’s interest for section 10 of the act to be commenced when local authorities feel that they do not have the time or resources that they need to produce effective plans—we want to make sure that they are able to do that. That is why the engagement is so important.

I certainly hope so. We have tried to strike the right balance. Of course, this is the first step, and it is a big change to the way that the Government works and how we embed different practices and engage across portfolios in addition to the consideration that will have to be given to the plan. It will also be new for local authorities and health boards.

The approach that we have taken is the right one, and the Scottish Food Commission will have an important role throughout the process, because it will be able to monitor and see how all that is working and whether the plan is delivering against the intended outcomes. Time will tell. However, it is important that local authorities have the ability to determine the outcomes that are important for their areas. The indicators and the measurements that they are using are also important. For us to be able to gather that information at a national level, it is helpful to see how things are being delivered overall. How that might work is part of the engagement and discussion that we will have with local authorities.

Right now, the only figures that we have associated with that are those that we published in the financial memorandum to the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Bill. Having been through the process ourselves, however, we have taken note of the amount of resource and work that was needed to do that, which is why that on-going engagement with local authorities is important. It is really just about trying to bottom out what that resource might look like.

I recognise that that is the view of some stakeholders, but I know that, as you can imagine, other stakeholders would take the opposite view. As has been outlined, the agriculture budget is ring fenced for that purpose, and the vast majority of that budget goes on the direct payments that we make to our farmers and crofters.

We have not bottomed out what the resource request for the development of the plans will look like. We are just starting our discussions for next year’s budget, so I cannot give any further information to the committee on that. However, as I said, the agriculture funding is ring fenced for that purpose.

I certainly hope so. On access to allotments or other land, the different policy areas that we are looking at and giving consideration to for the good food nation plan will be important. I mentioned section 6 of the 2022 act and the specified functions—how we will have to have regard to the good food nation plan and the delivery of those outcomes as we develop policy or exercise our functions in specific areas. This is our starting point, and we can hope only to improve.

Our work on land reform is an example. It is key in delivering on the good food nation outcomes and, I hope, will provide more access to land.

At the moment, we are undertaking a review of the community right to buy, to ensure that that is working as intended. We understand that a few of the powers are difficult for community bodies to use, so we want to improve on that where possible.

All of that will feed into the good food nation outcomes. A lot of work that is under way is captured by the plan—which will, ultimately, help to deliver on that.

That is why the scrutiny of the plan that the committees are undertaking is so important. If there are particular recommendations that we should reflect on or look to incorporate in the plan, I would be happy to consider them. However, I do not want to give the impression that we do not respect the role of our third sector bodies in delivering. In fact, we support a lot of third sector organisations in delivering towards achieving the overall outcomes that we are seeking.

I would be happy to hear the committee’s feedback on that and on whether the plan should reflect that much more, because we very much recognise that role.

It could well be. Community planning partnerships could be a forum where local authorities and health boards share the development of the work and show how it is also relevant to the work of the community planning partnerships. That is an area that we could consider. We could also perhaps look to issue guidance on community planning by asking community planning partnerships to consider the good food nation plan and its outcomes in relation to the work that they are doing. I certainly hope that local authorities would use those forums to feed into that process.

Procurement is hugely important, and we touch on that in the good food nation plan. I believe that we have the potential through public procurement to make an impact in the wider food system and food environment that we have just talked about.

Ultimately, the population health framework will have to deliver on the outcomes that we want to see. Even if there are no specific references to procurement in the population health framework, the overall health system will no doubt have to deliver on that as well, because that is what we have set out in the good food nation plan, if that makes sense.

I am grateful to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee for undertaking the evidence session and some of the scrutiny of the good food nation plan, which touches on so many different areas of policy. That is evident in the evidence that the committee has received and the number of contributions that have been made to the committee. We also saw that during the parliamentary scrutiny of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022. The number of organisations that were involved in that process shows how many areas food policy touches. I am keen that we continue on that good food nation journey now.

On the time that it has taken us to get here, I note that we passed the act in 2022. We are talking about a fundamental shift in how we work across Government, so it has taken time to make sure that we get the proposed plan, as it has been presented, in as strong a shape as possible to enable us to build on that shift.

We have ambitious outcomes that I hope we will achieve, and the proposed plan sets us on a strong footing going forward. Does it address all the issues that we know we have right now? No, it does not; we know that there is more work to do. We identify that in the proposed plan, because we know that we have data gaps and that more work needs to be done in certain areas. Again, it is the first plan, and we will build on it for the future.

We also undertook extensive consultation on the plan. Nourish Scotland undertook workshops across Scotland to find out what people wanted to see in the plan. We wanted to engage with children and young people, which was a theme that came out strongly through the scrutiny of the bill when it was being discussed at stage 2. We had more than 1,000 responses from children and young people.

Of course, all that takes time to analyse and get right. We published the consultation results in September last year. Since then, it has been about drafting the proposed plan.

This period of scrutiny is important, because we want to make sure that we hear people’s views on the proposed plan and whether there are any improvements that we can look to make before we introduce the final plan. I am certainly ambitious for the future. It will take a lot of work across Government to deliver on it, but it is a strong step in the right direction.