Public Sector Food Standards (Scotland) Act 2017 1

MODEL
SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

Public Sector Food Standards (Scotland) Bill

SP Bill 21

(as amended at Stage 2)

An Act of the Scottish Parliament to make provision about the standards of food provided or
supplied by Scottish public bodies.

Public sector food standards

1 Duty to provide vegetarian food and drink

(1) Where a public body provides
(a) a meal (irrespective of the number of courses), or
(b) a snack,
the public body has a duty to ensure that a vegetarian alternative to that meal or snack is
also provided by the public body.
(2) A public body has a duty to ensure that any vegetarian alternative is clearly identified as
such on a menu and in any information, document or article relating to the vegetarian
alternative.

2 Duty to provide gluten-free food and drink

(1) Where subsection (2) or (3) applies, a public body has a duty to ensure that a gluten-free
alternative to any meal or snack offered by the public body is available.
(2) This subsection applies if a public body supplies
(a) a mean of 50 meals or more per day (irrespective of the number of courses), or
(b) a mean of 50 snacks or more per day.
(3) This subsection applies if a person requests, at least one week before the day on which the
meal or snack is to be provided, that the public body provide or supply a gluten-free
alternative to a meal or snack otherwise provided or supplied by the public body.
(4) For the purposes of subsection (2), a mean is to be calculated
(a) over a two-week period, and
(b) again at the end of the period of 14 weeks from the previous calculation.
(5) A public body has a duty to ensure that any gluten-free alternative is clearly identified as
such on a menu and in any information, document or article relating to the gluten-free
2 Public Sector Food Standards (Scotland) Act 2017

alternative.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a reference to a gluten-free food or drink is a reference to
any food or drink which meets the requirements for products labelled gluten-free
specified in the schedule to the Foodstuffs for People Intolerant to Gluten (Scotland)
Regulations 2010 (S.S.I. 2010/355).

3 Duty to provide equivalent nutrition

Where a public body provides food or drink in fulfilment of a duty under section 1 or 2,
the public body has a duty to ensure that the food or drink is at least of reasonably
equivalent nutritional value to comparable food or drink the public body provides
otherwise than in fulfilment of those duties.

4 Application to courses of education

Nothing in this Act places a duty on a public body in relation to food or drink which is
prepared by a student or tutor as part of a course of education.

General

5 Meaning of public body

(1) In this Act, public body means any body described in the schedule.
(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations
(a) add a description to the schedule,
(b) omit a description from the schedule, or
(c) vary a description in the schedule.
(3) Regulations under this section are subject to the affirmative procedure.

6 Interpretation
(1) In this Act
food has the same meaning as in Regulation (EC) No. 178/2002 (as at 7 December
2004);
meal means any food (except food consisting solely of a snack) or drink;
snack means any confectionary or savoury snack, within the meaning of the Nutritional
Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 (S.S.I.
2008/265).
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a reference to the provision or supply of food or drink by a
public body includes
(a) provision or supply by or on the behalf of the public body, and
(b) provision or supply whether or not involving a sale of food or drink.

7 Commencement
This Act comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.

8 Short title
The short title of this Act is the Public Sector Food Standards (Scotland) Act 2017.
Public Sector Food Standards (Scotland) Act 2017 3

SCHEDULE
PUBLIC BODIES

National and local government

1 The Scottish Ministers.
2 A local authority.

Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body

3 The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body.