3. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the food security unit in relation to the monitoring of food system resilience. (S6O-02800)

The initial focus of the new food security unit is to develop evidence-based systems to monitor risks or threats to supply chains and to mitigate future shocks and impacts on food security. It is still early days for the unit, but enhanced monitoring should mean that the Government and industry can be on the front foot and are able to react as quickly as possible to future shocks as they arise. Although it is not possible to predict all impacts, improved monitoring should, in turn, help to bolster industry confidence during these hugely challenging times.

In my South Scotland region and beyond, food insecurity and hunger are becoming increasingly prominent issues that have no place in a modern Scotland. Although I welcome the establishment of a food security unit, it is my belief that a right to food should be enshrined in Scots law as independent legislation, because that is critical to ensuring food security. Why does the Scottish Government continue to reject calls from Labour members to introduce that important right?

T here are quite a lot of drivers of people not being able to eat, which relate to poverty. The Scottish Government has tried to identify meaningful and efficient measures that we can take to alleviate poverty. The Scottish child payment of £25 a week has been hailed as making a “significant difference” by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations in the report that it published this week. I recommend that Carol Mochan has a look at the report if she has not already done so.

The energy part of my portfolio delivers the fuel insecurity fund, which has been tripled since the current First Minister took office. The biggest drivers of poverty are the costs of food and energy. We are calling for a social tariff on energy Bills and for the two-child benefit cap to be lifted. Those measures would tackle at source the issues that Carol Mochan rightly brings to the chamber and would alleviate the poverty that many families in her region are experiencing. That is where we are putting our efforts.

Each week, butchers in Orkney buy locally reared beef and lamb at the auction mart and ship it to Dingwall for slaughter, with carcases returning to Orkney by refrigerated lorry. Reliable ferry services are key to that trade and to butchers fulfilling their contracts with local schools, care homes and NHS Orkney. However, the Government’s failure to provide cover during the dry docking of MV Hamnavoe in January puts all that at risk. Previously, a Ropax—roll on, roll off passenger—vessel was used, and then Scottish National Party ministers approved the use of a freight vessel. Now, the Government has abandoned the route completely during the refit. Will the Minister explain how that meets the requirements of food system resilience or, indeed, a lifeline ferry service?

Although Liam McArthur’s question strays away from my portfolio and into the transport portfolio, he raises an important point about the geographical locations of abattoirs, which is in my portfolio. We are actively looking at that with the chief vet. Although my Constituency is not across any body of water, we, too, have an issue with getting animals to slaughter in a way that is not distressing for them and does not involve long journeys. We are looking at a range of measures that might improve that situation.

I will take this back to the original question about the food security unit. A few weeks back, there was a debate in the chamber, which the Labour Party tried to stifle, that touched directly on our ability to create a secure and resilient food system. In the debate, I pointed out to members that berry farmers had, in fact, given up on growing soft fruit and that Brexit was undoubtedly sitting at the heart of that problem.

What is the Scottish Government’s latest assessment of the impact of Brexit on our food security? Does the Cabinet secretary agree that the hypocrisy of Labour’s current pro-Brexit stance proves that Labour is not what Scotland needs?

I thank Jim Fairlie for the questions. I absolutely recognise the issues that he has outlined, particularly about the soft fruit-growing industry. The food and drink sector as a whole has undoubtedly borne the brunt of the United Kingdom Government’s hard Brexit, which has brought with it disrupted supply chains, new trade barriers and the costs of higher food prices. We are all paying for a Brexit that Scotland did not vote for.

Of course, access to labour is a fundamental part of the issue that Jim Fairlie outlined. That is what makes Labour’s position all the more cynical. Labour knows that Brexit is hugely harmful, yet it will continue to impose it on Scotland if it wins the next Westminster election. That fact shows that it does not matter who is in power in Westminster—neither Labour nor the Tories will stand up for Scotland.

The only route for food producers in Scotland to once again enjoy the benefits of access to the European Union labour force, removal of export red tape and unfettered access to the European single market is to have an independent Scotland, whose first priority would be rejoining the EU.

The Deputy Presiding Officer:

Question 4 has been withdrawn. Question 5 was not lodged.