Writing a Good Food Nation plan: a brief guide for relevant authorities

The Legislative Requirements

Note that it is for individual relevant authorities to seek appropriate legal advice as to whether their plans meet all of the below requirements.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 10(1) and Section 10 (3)

Publish a Good Food Nation Plan within 12 months of the day that Section 10 of the GFN Act comes into force.

Section 10 of the GFN Act is not yet in force. You will have plenty of notice before the 12-month period starts.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 10 (4) and Section 10 (5)

The Good Food Nation Plan must set out:

(a)  the main outcomes in relation to food-related issues which the relevant authority wants to be achieved within the relevant authority’s areas of responsibility,

(b)  indicators or other measures by which progress in achieving the outcomes may be assessed, and

(c)  the policies which the relevant authority intends to pursue in order to secure the achievement of the outcomes.

A relevant authority’s Good Food Nation plan may include such other material in relation to food-related issues as the relevant authority considers appropriate.

Your Good Food Nation Plan must cover the points listed (a)-(c).

You have the flexibility to set your own outcomes - these do not have to be the same as those in the national Plan.

You also have flexibility to include other material if you feel it is useful or necessary.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 10 (6)

In determining the content of its good food nation plan, a relevant authority must have regard to the scope for food-related issues to affect outcomes in relation to, among other things—

(a) social and economic wellbeing,

(b) the environment, including in particular in relation to—

(i) climate change, and

(ii) wildlife and the natural environment,

(c) health and physical and mental wellbeing (including in particular through the provision of health and social care services),

(d) economic development,

(e) animal welfare,

(f) education,

(g) child poverty, and

(h) any other matter specified by the Scottish Ministers.

When you are putting together your Good Food Nation Plan, and determining your outcomes, this is a list of issues that you need to take into account. You must be able to demonstrate that you have considered these issues.

This list is only a starting point: you can and should also think about other issues as well.

If the Scottish Ministers decide to add any other matter to this list, it would be via secondary legislation and you would be given plenty of notice.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 11

In preparing a good food nation plan, a relevant authority must have regard to—

(a) the fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food,

(b) the role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing of loss of biodiversity and improvement in animal welfare,

(c) the ability of high quality, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people,

(d) the fact that adequate food is a human right (as part of the right to an adequate standard of living set out in Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) and essential to the realisation of other human rights,

(e) the importance of the food business sector—

(i) continuing to be a thriving part of the Scottish economy,

(ii) having resilient supply chains,

(iii) operating with fair work standards, and

(iv) contributing to resilient local economies across Scotland.

When you are preparing your Good Food Nation Plan you must take these principles into account, and you must be able to demonstrate that you have done so.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 12

When preparing a good food nation plan, the relevant authority must publish and consult on a draft of the good food nation plan, and have regard to any responses received.

When consulting, the relevant authority must have regard to:

• the importance of communicating in an inclusive way, and
• the importance of communicating in a way that is effective in engaging children and young people.

Broadly, you can consult however and whomever you choose. There are no specific requirements about the length of the consultation period, or about who you should consult with. It is for each relevant authority to decide what level of consultation they believe to be appropriate.

However, when consulting you must think about the importance of communicating in an inclusive way, and about the importance of communicating effectively with children and young people.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 13

In preparing a good food nation plan, a relevant authority must have regard to the national good food nation plan.

When you are preparing your Good Food Nation Plan, you must take into account the content of the national Plan, and be able to demonstrate that you have done this.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 14

When publishing its good food nation plan, a relevant authority must publish an accompanying statement which sets out how in preparing the plan it complied with sections 11 and 13.

When you publish a final version of your Good Food Nation Plan, you must publish a statement alongside it that outlines how you have complied with the requirements to have regard to the national Good Food Nation Plan and to have regard to the list of principles set out in section 11 of the Act.

The Act does not specify the format of this statement, only that each relevant authority must publish one alongside their Plan.          

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 15

A relevant authority must, when exercising a specified function or a function falling within a specified description, have regard to the relevant authority’s good food nation plan.

This is the part of the legislation that gives effect to the Good Food Nation Plans.

Each relevant authority must have regard to its Good Food Nation Plan when exercising certain functions. Those functions, or the description within which they fall, will be specified in secondary legislation.

For example, a description might be the "provision of food in schools" or "all functions of the local authority relevant to the provision of food in schools in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980".

This would mean that when exercising any function in relation to the provision of food in schools, or any function of the local authority relevant to the provision of food in schools in the Education (Scotland) Act 1980, the local authority would have to have regard to its Good Food Nation Plan.

The specified functions that apply to relevant authorities will be set out in secondary legislation. This will be brought forward by the Scottish Government, following appropriate consultation, and will come into force at around the time that the first relevant authority Good Food Nation Plans are published.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 16

As soon as practicable after the end of each reporting period, a relevant authority must publish a report setting out progress made towards achieving the outcomes set out in the Good Food Nation Plan, by reference to the indicators or other measures that are set out in the plan.

These reports must be published as soon as practicable after the end of each reporting period. The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 defines the first reporting period as a period of 2 years, which begins on the day that the relevant authority publishes its first Good Food Nation Plan. Thereafter, the reporting period is each subsequent period of 2 years.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 17(1) and Section 17(2)

A relevant authority must review its good food nation plan every 5 years.

In reviewing its plan, the relevant authority must have regard to any recommendation made by the Scottish Food Commission under section 20(3)(b) of the Act.

You must review your first Good Food Nation Plan before the end of the period of 5 years beginning on the day it is published. You must review the plan again before the end of each subsequent period of 5 years.

When you are reviewing your Plan, you must have regard to any formal recommendation that has been made by the Scottish Food Commission as to action the Commission thinks you should take in relation to your Plan.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 17(3)

Section 17(4)

Section 17(5) and Section 17(6)

Following a review, the relevant authority may revise the plan as the relevant authority considers appropriate.

When preparing a revised good food nation plan, the authority must comply with sections 10(4) to (6), 11, 12 and 13 of the Act.

When publishing a revised good food nation plan, the authority must also publish an accompanying statement which sets out how the revised statement has complied with sections 11 and 13 of the Act.

As soon as practicable after revising the plan, the relevant authority must publish the plan.

You may revise your Good Food Nation Plan following a review, but do not have to do so.

If revising your plan, sections 10(4) to (6) on the content of the plan, section 11 on the principles to which regard must be had in the preparation of the plan, section 12 on consultation and section 13 on the regard to be given to the national Good Food Nation Plan when preparing a plan, all apply in same way as they do to the preparation of the initial plan.

You must publish your revised plan as soon as practicable after you have finished revising it.

When publishing your revised plan, you must publish a statement that sets out how in revising your plan, you have complied with the requirements to have regard to the principles in section 11 and the national Good Food Nation Plan.

Legislative Reference and Requirement

Section 18

In publishing a document under sections 10 to 17, a relevant authority must have regard to the importance of communicating in an inclusive way.

When publishing any of the documents required by the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022, you must have regard to the importance of communicating in an inclusive way.            

If you have further questions about preparing your Good Food Nation Plan, please contact the Scottish Government Good Food Nation team in the first instance, at goodfoodnation@gov.scot.