Agenda item

Leader Mary Ann Brocklesby introduced the report, Marianne Elliott delivered a presentation, and they answered the members’ questions with Deb Hill-Howells and Craig O’Connor.

Key questions from Members:

• Caldicot food bank need is growing, I am interested in the concept of community food and how to upskill residents and bring people together to perhaps use council lands as allotments – acknowledging the very successful community allotment in Caldicot.
• I am interested in the new Severn View care home which has a community allotment, the ethos being to bring the community in to facilitate and to provide a social element, emphasising that food is not just about nutrition. How can we support local residents to access council land and facilities? Where and how can this happen?
• In terms of the ‘Cook along club’, the local primary school had its first session this afternoon and there was a significant interest from parents.
• In reference to Free School Meals (FSM), the school meal budget and lunch food being wasted is a key concern – is there feedback as to why there’s waste? Is it children’s choices or nutrition?
• In relation to the uptake of FSM registration, could the number be compromised by residents or carers having to register online? Not everyone engages with social media, so could this be better facilitated via word of mouth? Parents have asked how to register if they don’t have the ‘Scoop system’ – could there be more options for relaying the message to parents?
• If pupils are registered for FSMs, is there an opportunity for grant fundings for uniforms?
• Is there a way to improve supply chains locally so that schools and care homes can be supplied with meat – 70% of sheep sold through Raglan market are sent to England to be processed as there is no local processing plant?
• There is a difference between what residents would see as words and actual actions…. “Monmouthshire stands out for” and “local can be seen as Monmouthshire, Gwent….”. I don’t’ feel that Llandudno for example, is ‘local’. We need to be more specific and in real terms, local should mean local and be defined as such. We need to separate out Monmouthshire from the rest of Wales.
• In terms of Climate Change and Nature Recovery, I recognise the importance of taking residents and businesses with us and this strategy clearly depends on their support, but the contract recently awarded to a milk supplier hundreds of miles away cuts directly across statements of ethical and local produce.
• I am pleased to see the new hydrogen electric vehicle is now serving meals on wheels to residents.
• Osbaston School: they are feeding back all of the good things that they do about food sourcing, which is brilliant to see – there are very good things and conversations happening but we recognise we have a long way to go.
• Can it be confirmed whether this local food strategy would have materially impacted the original decision to award the school milk contract to a business in Pembrokeshire?
• In terms of support for SMEs, microbusinesses and SMEs are the lifeblood of the county’s food industry and these often struggle to scale up and are affected by high business rates. Welsh Government has cut rates to 40%, but can the Leader commit to write to the minister and implore him to reconsider?
• It’s positive to hear about work with local growers. With 80% of land being grassland, it’s inefficient compared to crop-growing – how much success have we had to transition to increase food production on land we own and therefore have control over?
• Sourcing local food is so important and is what residents and Councillors want. There are a number of county farms and smallholdings in Portskewett, who want to ensure they can continue, which is better for environment and shows the passion in rural communities. In terms of the disposal of MCC land for development, how will this be balanced with the demand for housing?

Chair’s Summary:

Thank you to Councillor Brocklesby and the officers for presenting this strategy. Members wanted to understand what we are doing to support and teach our communities and projects of upskilling residents to eat nutritious meals and how we can support and facilitate local residents to get access to Council land to grow their own produce. There is concern about the uptake of free school meals and what the Council is doing to ensure that people are aware of what is available to them. It was asked if there is any way we can improve supply chains locally to our nursing homes, schools, etc. in relation to processing that produce. There is a very real concern from recent events that have caused members to discuss the procurement of food and milk. Council and residents will of course support a local food strategy, but we'd like a strategy to be more specific to Monmouthshire and maybe neighbouring borders. Local produce is key when considering climate change and we need our local food strategy to align.

There was praise from members for the hydrogen vehicles that are serving Meals on Wheels to our residents. There was a question asking if the local food strategy played any part in the recent procurement selection of Totally Welsh and we're looking for some support to lobby Welsh Government with regards to the business rate relief for RSMES in the county. There was a valid question as to how the Council will encourage sustainable farming going forward and the importance of aligning all our policies, whether that's the local food strategy, the climate change strategy, the RLDP tackling, the qualities, the list is endless.