9. DirApp - FINAL - Good Food Cabinet Report - 20.11.25
North Ayrshire Council · 2 December 2025
Back to Cabinet — 2 December 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 2 December 2025 Cabinet Title: Good Food Nation Plan Purpose: To inform Cabinet of the requirements of the Good Food Nation Act and to seek approval for a pan-Ayrshire approach to planning and engagement. Recommendation: That Cabinet: a) notes the requirements of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act to create a local Good Food Plan; and b) Authorises officers to work with the other relevant authorities in the Ayrshire region to undertake planning and engagement on a collaborative basis. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act requires relevant authorities, including Councils, to create local Good Food Plans within 12 months of Section 10 of the Act being formally commenced (this provision of the Act has not yet formally commenced). This is a cross sectoral plan which requires comprehensive attention to a set of issues and high-level principles, outlined within section two of this report. 1.2 In September 2025, North Ayrshire Council approved the further exploration of collaborative work across the Ayrshire region. The cross sectoral nature of the requirements for the local Good Food Plan means that it is an area of work which would benefit from collaboration with the other relevant authorities within the region. 1.3 While each authority is legally required to prepare its own Local Good Food Plan, it is proposed that officers work jointly with colleagues from East Ayrshire Council, South Ayrshire Council, and NHS Ayrshire & Arran. This collaborative approach would focus on shared planning and engagement activities to support the development of each authority’s plan. 2. Background 2.1 In June 2022, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed new food systems legislation. The Good Food Nation (GFN) (Scotland) Act is a legislative framework designed to foster a fairer, healthier, and more sustainable Scottish food system for all.
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2.2 The Act creates a statutory requirement for the production, publication, and evaluation schedule for national, and associated local, Good Food Nation plans including biannual reporting and five yearly reviews. Relevant authorities are defined as the 14 territorial health boards and all 32 local authorities, meaning 46 agencies will be required to prepare local plans within 12 months of Section 10 of the Act coming into effect. Although Section 10 has not yet commenced, preparatory work is essential to ensure compliance and to reflect the complexity of local food systems. 2.3 The local GFN plans are required to set out (a) the main outcomes in relation to food- related issues, which the authority wants to achieve; (b) the indicators, or other measures by which progress towards achieving the outcomes, will be measured; (c) the policies the authority intends to pursue to deliver the outcomes, and measure progress; and (d) their plans for ensuring that implementation of the policies are informed by the food business sector. No explicit targets or indicators of progress were included in the final GFN (Scotland) Act. 2.4 The GFN (Scotland) Act requires the authority to have regard to the scope for food- related issues to affect outcomes in relation to a number of issues when developing their GFN plans, in particular but not limited to: • Social and Economic Wellbeing • the Environment, including in particular in relation to climate Change and the natural environment • Health and physical and mental wellbeing • Economic Development • Animal welfare • Education • Child poverty 2.5 The legislation also places a duty on the Council to have regard to a set of high-level principles when developing local plans and discharging allied duties (e.g. school food provision)]: • The fact that each part of the food system and supply chain plays an important role in the provision of food • The role of a sustainable food system and supply chain in contributing to the mitigation of climate change, halting and reversing loss of biodiversity, and improving animal welfare • The ability of high quality, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food to improve the health and physical and mental wellbeing of people • The fact that adequate food is a human right and essential to the realisation of other human rights • The importance of the food business sector to be a thriving part of the Scottish economy, having resilient supply chains, operating with fair work standards, and contributing to resilient local economics across Scotland 2.6 Developing the Local Good Food Plan will be a complex task requiring input from multiple Council services and partners, including the community and voluntary sector. Extensive engagement and consultation will be needed to agree local outcomes, indicators, and targets, and to ensure the plan fully reflects the required scope and principles. Work will commence in advance of Section 10 being enacted to ensure compliance with legislative deadlines.
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2.7 The Action Plan will build on existing food-related work across Council services, including: • Initiatives addressing food insecurity, such as the Fairer Food Network and community growing projects • Providing support for the local food industry through Business Support and Development and Employability and Skills activities and under the Regional Economic Strategy • Partnership working and engagement with the regional food industry through the Ayrshire wide Food and Drink workstream. This is part of a network of sector-based groups under the Ayrshire Regional Economic Partnership, comprising cross-sector representation to support the regional economy • School meal provision and food procurement through Facilities Management • Food safety enforcement by Environmental Health and compliance oversight by Licensing The Plan will adopt a whole-systems approach, aligning with Council priorities on reducing child poverty, tackling health inequalities, promoting sustainability, and lowering carbon emissions. 2.8 Many of the outcomes required, and the stakeholder groups involved, are likely to work across the boundaries of the three Ayrshire authorities. In September 2025, North Ayrshire Council approved a paper on collaborative working in Ayrshire which approved the approach to further develop regional collaborative working opportunities across Ayrshire. This stated the potential benefits from regional working, while emphasising the importance of ensuring that the principles of community empowerment and local democracy, one of this Council’s strategic priorities, are not diminished and that we continue to build upon the successes to date. 2.9 Following discussion between officers from all three Ayrshire councils and NHS Ayrshire and Arran, as the four relevant authorities within Ayrshire within the GFN Act, it has been proposed that a collaborative approach is taken to develop shared consultation methods and an outcome framework across Ayrshire as a whole. The framework will ensure that local outcomes deliver on the policy areas of: • Taking a whole systems approach to developing local food systems • Improving access to food and reducing the reliance on emergency food aid • Promoting the procurement of healthy and sustainable food by public bodies • Supporting healthy diets through guidance and programs like free school meals • Focusing on sustainability, including reducing food waste and supporting sustainable production. Following this each authority will develop a specific plan outlining their actions, targets and indicators to meet their statutory responsibilities and ensure localised approaches where these are appropriate. This approach ensures a cohesive and coherent set of outcomes across the region while allowing localised decision making and action to deliver upon them. The final North Ayrshire Local Good Food Plan would be subject to future Cabinet approval. 3. Proposals 3.1 That Cabinet: a) notes the requirements of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act to create a local
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Good Food Plan; and b) Authorises officers to work with the other relevant authorities in the Ayrshire region to undertake planning and engagement on a collaborative basis.
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4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 There are currently no additional resources identified to comply with the new legislative requirements. Officers are monitoring any opportunities for additional funding support that may come with enactment of the relevant provisions of the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 The Council is required to create the Local Good Food Plan within specific timescales to ensure compliance with the Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 The plan is required to have regard to a range of issues including social and economic wellbeing; health and physical and mental Wellbeing ; economic development; education; and child poverty. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 The Plan is required to have regard to issues around the environment, including in particular in relation to (a) climate change and (b) wildlife and the Natural Environment. Key Priorities 4.6 The Good Food Plan, when completed, will support the Council’s priorities of transitioning to a wellbeing economy, having active, inclusive and resilient communities, and achieving net zero through its range of outcomes. Community Wealth Building 4.7 The Local Good Food Plan will align with the Community Wealth Building Strategy to deliver upon its aims. Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) 4.8 An ICIA will be carried out as the Local Plan is developed. United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 4.9 Children and Young People will be engaged in the development of the Plan, upholding their right to participate. Consumer Duty 4.10 Any implications for consumer duty will be considered as the Plan is developed.
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5. Consultation 5.1 The Plan will be the subject of extensive consultation work with a range of sectors. David W. Hammond Executive Director (Communities and Housing) For further information please contact Rhonda J. Leith, Head of Service (Connected Communities), on 01294 312415. Background Papers 0