This morning:
‘The human right to food should be put into Scots law to protect people from rising insecurity. That’s according to a new report. Following a consultation, the Scottish Human Rights Commission is calling on the Scottish Government to make the move to tackle health inequalities. More than 480 000 food parcels were handed out by food banks between April 2017 and September 2018’
Strange time period to use? Why not for a year? Anyhow, that’s over a period of 18 months or 78 weeks (one parcel per week?), we get an average of 6154 food parcels handed out per week. The adult population is 3.45 million so 0.18% or 1 in every 561 adult Scots needs a food parcel on a typical week?
As for ‘calling on’ the Scottish Government, you won’t be surprised to hear that it was the Scottish Government which ‘called for’ the human rights folk to attend their commission.
Also, it’s worth noting that the right to food is already enshrined in international legislation which the Scottish Government has said it is committed to implementing and protecting from folk like Boris and Jacob and Theresa and Ruth and Jackson, so it already is, to all intents and purposes, in Scots law!
Talking-up Scotland 
Hi John – Continuing the food security theme from a different angle – I realise some mighty good folk on the Indy side of history are getting (understandably) fretful at the attention that the SNP Scottish Govt, the SNP MPs and MEPs and SNP Conference etc are giving to finding ways to keep Scotland within (or effectively within) the EU –
We all hope that we are in transition to an internationally recognised Indy statehood this time next year (preferably next week!) but also have to make preparations just in case we aren’t yet there.
News.gov.scot carries some useful figures today which demonstrate how brexit would impact on Scottish fruit/vegetable production (workforce), humane and safe abattoir facilities (EU nationals providing 95% of official veterinary cover), fishing (workforce: 58% of processing workforce) – let alone the tax provisions of 5.2% of Scotland’s tax-paying workforce (the taxes which allow all sorts of desirable projects to be pursued): Link and snippets below: This is really big stuff folks – it will continue to pull political oxygen away from EVERYTHING else until some greater clarity is achieved:
https://news.gov.scot/news/rural-scotland-and-eu-citizens
Approximately 5.2% of Scotland’s total workforce is made up of EU migrants, with the rural economy particularly reliant on people from all over the EU with a vital mix of skills to support key industries, including:
• up to 10,000 EU citizens employed in food and drink
• up to 10,000 non-UK seasonal migrant workers employed in the soft fruit and vegetable sector
• over 4,500 EU citizens work in the Scottish fishing industry
• Food Standards Scotland reports that 95% of official veterinarians are EU citizens
• an estimated 21,000 EU citizens were employed in the tourism sector, accounting for 11.6% of all employed in the sector
• The First Minister has made a commitment to EU citizens living here that they will be supported to remain in Scotland during and beyond the uncertainty associated with an EU exit.
Mr Ewing reiterated this commitment while visiting Pittenweem harbour, where he highlighted the importance of retaining freedom of movement for EU workers. He said:”.. For example, 58% of our fish processing labour workforce comes from the EU, without which there is a real risk to the future success and sustainability of the rural and coastal economy and communities.
“Our message to people is therefore clear: you are welcome here, you contribute to this country’s diversity and prosperity, and we will do everything we can to help you stay in Scotland.”
LikeLiked by 2 people
bit of flawed methodology here surely – only adults can qualify to receive food parcels – so total population is irrelevant – and then I assume (stand to be corrected) that you can probably only get a food parcel once a week – so your per day figure is not relevant – not up to your usual standard?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fair points. Going too fast. I’m on it.
LikeLike
Done. OK?
LikeLike
Apols for going off-topic but noticed these useful bullet point stats/factoids regarding Scottish Higher Education on BfS site and felt should be given wider coverage: Link and snippets below:
http://www.businessforscotland.com/scotlands-people-are-the-most-highly-educated-in-europe/
A few more brief facts about the education sector
• More than 4,500 of Scotland’s academics hail from other EU nations
• 69% of jobs in the sector are located in Scotland’s most economically deprived areas
• Dundee’s life sciences cluster supports 16% of jobs on Tayside
• Scotland boats 241,935 students in full-time and part-time education, of whom more than 21,000 come from other EU nations
• Scottish universities generate £1.5 billion in export earnings a year for Scotland’s economy
• On a per head basis, Scotland wins 43% more in EU research funding than the rest of the UK
LikeLiked by 1 person
Can’t seem to persuade this to generate a new url after changes so that I can tweet and post the correct one. Any ideas?
LikeLike
I’m finding this topic quite confusing. I used to volunteer at a food bank and the rules were quite clear. You have to be referred by someone like a social worker or a doctor or the Govan Law Centre. You can only be referred twice in one year. There’s no entitlement to a food parcel – and certainly not on a weekly basis. And different food banks have different ways of operating.
Apologies if I’ve misunderstood. I’m only going by what I see here.
LikeLiked by 1 person