Tag: retail

Greens urge government to ensure school leavers can cook

Green MSP Alison Johnstone has urged the government to respond to a survey which shows a strong appetite among Scots for the Government to set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

By contrast the major supermarkets, who already control three-quarters of our grocery spending, are encouraging the growth of the ready meals sector through advertising campaigns, broadcasts and billboards. The UK ready meal market, which has been at the centre of the horsemeat scandal, continues to grow at five per cent a year and is now worth £1 billion a year.

The Panelbase survey for the Scottish Greens shows 79 per cent of 1,000 Scots agreed with the need for a target for school leavers, while only 7 per cent disagreed.

Other research suggests the majority of 18-25 year olds leave home without the ability to cook a simple recipe such as Spaghetti Bolognese, with many relying on ready meals and takeaways.

Alison Johnstone, Green MSP for Lothian and spokesperson on food and education for the Scottish Greens (pictured below), said: “We have a growing problem with obesity and ready meals are nutritionally haphazard. It’s time the Scottish Government challenged the big manufacturers and retailers. The inconvenient truth about many convenience foods is they make big firms big profits while public health pays dearly.

“Curriculum for Excellence has great potential and I would urge the government to recognise the appetite there is for ensuring school leavers are able to cook. As more people question what’s in the food they’re buying due to the horsemeat scandal it’s important we establish a balanced food culture from the start.”

AlisonJohnstoneMSP

The survey, carried out online by Panelbase in March, asked:

How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? The Scottish Government should set a target to ensure all school leavers are able to cook a basic meal from scratch.

The results were:

Agree Strongly 48%
Agree Slightly 31%
Neither Agree/Disagree 15%
Disagree Slightly 4%
Disagree Strongly 3%

Scots shops still in doldrums despite slight UK recovery

closedshop

Scotland is lagging behind the UK as a whole in the number of shoppers being attracted to retail outlets, according to a new report. Scottish Retail Consortium says that February’s total retail footfall was down 2.5% in Scotland compared to last year, while the UK as a whole managed an average increase of 0.8% over the same period.

Only North England and Yorkshire (down 2.7%) fared worse than Scotland in the survey, and Scottish Retail Consortium director Fiona Moriarty believes that the disappointing Scottish figures reflect low levels of consumer confidence and lower levels of sales growth.

“Although February’s sales figures showed some encouraging signs of improvement, we are reminded that the economic and trading environment remains fragile,” she said. “Scottish retailers will be hoping that the arrival of spring and seasonal lifts from Mother’s Day and Easter help to elevate this underwhelming figure into more positive territory in the coming months.”

The report confirms the tough conditions faced by retailers across the country. Recent research by PwC and the Local Data Company revealed that the number of stores closed by retail chains soared over the past twelve months, with major chains shutting an average of twenty shops a day last year. That figure increased in the last three months of 2012 as a spate of big household names went into administration.

jessops

The face of the High Street is changing – shops selling products like CDs and computer games, cards and clothes are closing, often being replaced by payday loan providers, pawnbrokers and pound stores. The PwC survey found a reduction of nearly 1,800 shops over 2012, a ten-fold increase on the year before – and more High Street chains fell into insolvency last year than ever before.

Latest figures estimate that as many as one in ten shops in Scotland is currently lying empty; just one more statistic for the Chancellor to consider as he puts the finishing touches to tomorrow’s Budget statement.