SNP questioned on shelved bill as Scotland sees record food insecurity

The Scottish Health Survey, which was published this week, reported never-before-seen levels of food insecurity – with particularly significant rises among pensioners and women.

Polling data from almost 3000 Scots adults found that one in four (23%) women aged 16-44 had worried about being able to afford enough food in 2023 – an increase of eight points since 2021.

Further, it found that one in 10 women in the age group (9%) had actually run out of food – more than double the rate reported in 2021 (4%).

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Among people aged 65 and over, one in 20 (5%) had worried about running out of food due to a lack of money, a similar number (4%) had deliberately eaten less, and 2% reported completely running out of food to eat.

While the numbers are low, they represent a significant rise on the 2021 rate, when just 1% of people aged over 65 reported worrying about being able to afford food or eating less, and 0% said they had actually run out.

(Image: Scottish Health Survey 2023) Pete Ritchie, the director of Nourish Scotland, said the newly published 2023 figures were “deeply shocking”.

“Historically, pensioners haven't ever reported feeling food insecure and suddenly – OK, it's only 5% – but what's going on there that you’ve got pensioners worrying about running out of food?” he asked.

“Government needs to be on top of this, to actually try to be proactive and say, how can we actually bring this down? Who's most at risk here?

“Nobody in Scotland should be getting halfway through the week and thinking ‘I'm not sure if I can put food on the table’. It's just not acceptable.”

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After the Scottish Health Survey was published on Wednesday, media headlines focused on figures which showed obesity levels at a record high (32%). This represented a slight uptick on previous years, where a steady rate of around 27-30% had been reported since 2008.

Ritchie said that obesity rates and food insecurity were connected.

“All of this is complicated … but it is absolutely the case that if you're short of money for food, you will be more likely to buy stuff that delivers you the calories you need as cheaply as possible,” he said.

“The issue is, if you're on a low income, you can't afford good food. Dairy, eggs, fruit and veg, those are things people cut back on.

“You tend to buy food which is the cheapest way of making yourself not be hungry, and also doing the same for your family.

“So you end up relying on a lot of pasta, biscuits, breakfast cereals – and that's not a criticism of people, that's the sensible thing to do if you're short of money for food.”

Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville Ritchie said it was good that government had stepped in to help with fuel bills – but said that despite significant price rises there had been “nothing at all” to help with food costs.

“If your food bill has gone up by 20 per cent, that’s tough,” the Nourish Scotland director said. “For people on low incomes it’s a real blow – and that's why we've been really keen on the right to food being in Scots law. We've been pushing for this for 10 years now and we thought we had it with the Good Food Nation bill [now Act] in 2022.

“But the Government kept saying, ‘Oh, no, don't worry about the right to food in this bill. We're going to bring in a Human Rights Bill, watch this space’.

“And then, in the Programme for Government this year, they just dropped it. All that promise about having the right to food in law, it's just disappeared now.”

Incorporating the right to food in Scots law would legally obligate the government to address food insecurity, as well as providing individuals with recourse if their access to adequate food is denied.

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Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville told a Holyrood committee in October that it was “very clear that the [Human Rights] Bill will not be delivered during this parliamentary session” – but told the Sunday National that the Scottish Government was taking other steps.

“No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials,” Somerville said. “We are taking forward nine actions over three years, 2023-2026, to improve the response to the crisis, using a cash-first approach so that fewer people need to turn to food parcels.

“Our five family payments, including Scottish Child Payment, the Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods, could be worth over £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns six and around £25,000 by the time an eligible child turns 16.

“We are also providing funding of over £2.2m to support older people’s organisations to deliver projects and programmes that seek to improve services and advice for older people.”

Scottish Green MSP Ariane BurgessScottish Green MSP Ariane Burgess called for the Scottish Government to make clear “how it will enshrine this badly needed right”, given that the Human Rights Bill has been put off.

She added: “Food is not an optional part of our lives; it is essential for our survival. It is deeply disappointing that this even needs to be vocalised when it is a fundamental human right for everyone to have food.”

Scottish Labour MSP Rhoda Grant tabled a member’s bill looking to incorporate the human right to food into Scots law early in the current Holyrood session, however the SNP opposed it on the grounds that their Human Rights Bill would do the same thing.

Grant said: “It is a national scandal that so many Scots are struggling to put food on the table.

“Food is a human right and it’s time our laws reflected that – but the SNP has kicked its Human Rights Bill into the long grass and opposed every other attempt to introduce a legal right to food.”