27 April 2020

The Scottish Government must enshrine ending food poverty into Scots law, Scottish Labour has said.

A recent report from Scotland’s Poverty and Inequality Commission has called on the Scottish Government to approach food security in the manner of a public health emergency including the use of TV and radio advertising.

The report states that there is a serious risk that the number of food insecure households will rise during the coronavirus pandemic as families struggle to access services and elderly people are confined to their homes.

Scottish Labour MSP Elaine Smith, whose bill to tackle food poverty, the ‘Right to Food’ Bill, has been delayed from being introduced by the pandemic, said: “The current crisis has demonstrated the importance of food policy and the dangers of food poverty.

“No person in Scotland, at this time of crisis or in any other time, should go hungry.

"Scottish Labour is calling for the Right to Food, an internationally recognised human right, to be enshrined in Scots Law. This symbolic step would demonstrate our determination to tackle food poverty once and for all.

“With Universal Credit applications soaring and the economy due to contract drastically it is of paramount importance that we begin the fight against the scourge of food poverty with immediate effect.”