International Women’s Day 2023 - Q&A with Chair of the Board, Heather Kelman

To celebrate International Women’s Day our Chair of the Board, Heather Kelman, reflects on her first year in post.

Where has the year gone?

I never really believed my elders that time went faster as you grow older. As a young girl, summer holidays arrived after a long 10 months of school. The tattie holidays appeared just as the summer vacation became a distant memory, and birthdays, Christmas and Hogmanay stayed exactly a respectful year apart. However, the past year as Chair of Food Standards Scotland (FSS) feels more like 12 weeks than 12 months. Is that because I love the job? Or the nerves and anxiety about trying to ensure I do and say the right thing? Perhaps the experience of new challenges, meeting new people and learning new things has made this past year one of the fastest I can recall. I suspect that it is a little of all those things.

What are the key things you’ve learned over the past year of being the Chair of the Board?

The thing that stands out most for me is the huge step there is between being a non-executive Board member and becoming Chair - to be well briefed and represent the organisation whenever the occasion requires it, accurately representing the expertise and position of FSS.

Over the year I have also gained a greater understanding of the importance of the independence of FSS, and how we can maintain that independence, whilst still fulfilling the functions of a government department. My mantra is ‘follow the evidence’ - that may be scientific evidence, consumer research, or critical and logical analysis.

I also observed during my programme of introductory visits, how many amazing women were now in positions of authority. I met many Chairs of other public bodies, Chief Executives, Chief Officers, heads of department, Ministers, politicians, professors, scientists, and the vast majority were women. That may not sound extraordinary, but as a child of the 60s – it was extremely unusual for women to hold those positions.

What has been the most challenging aspect of being the Chair of the Board?

This is easy to answer – overcoming Impostor Syndrome. I would feel that I didn’t have the skills, knowledge or experience to do the job. I would question whether or not I was ‘good enough’ to speak to certain people in positions of authority, and be surprised when people would seek my opinion.

I really wanted to do this role well, so I had to reach back and remember that confidence comes from knowledge and experience which comes with time, and that I could speed that up with active learning. The team helped me organise a full induction and whenever I felt like an impostor, I would give myself a stern talking to and respect that the process of my appointment had been thorough and well conducted and if others had faith in me, the least I could do was trust in their judgement.

This seems self-indulgent when there are real challenges facing the organisation and the food environment at the moment. The consequences of leaving the European Union and the consequential Internal Market Act and the pending Retained EU Law (revocation and reform) Bill and the impact this could have on food safety, food supply and trade; the invasion of Ukraine and the impact that has had on food security, energy and inflation; climate change and the need to consider how a nation can be fed with less determent to the environment; food price inflation and the real challenges facing some families to ensure meals are both filling and nutritious. These and other challenges must be faced and addressed and warrant far more attention than my insecurities, but I can do that better when I stop doubting myself.

What are your hopes for FSS?

My hopes are that the organisation continues to gain confidence in itself, that there is growing awareness of the full role of FSS, and we continue to gain the public’s trust. I’d hope we are increasingly recognised and respected as the authoritative source of information, evidence, knowledge and advice on food safety, food hygiene, food standards and not least public health nutrition. This requires us to ensure the information we hold is easily accessed, timely and well communicated.

Have there been notable contributions from colleagues throughout the past year?

Yes, absolutely. If I have to single out one piece of work, it would be the first ever Joint Annual Report on food standards prepared with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) -  “Our Food 2021: An annual report of food standards across the UK”.

Every part of FSS contributed to the production of this report, in close collaboration with colleagues in the FSA. Exiting the EU resulted in new responsibilities for food resting within the UK and consumers need strong watchdogs ensuring that standards are being protected. This objective, data-driven assessment of the safety and standards of food over time will help us do this.  The report also gives an oversight on public health nutrition and the factors affecting the public’s ability to consume food conducive to good health.

This year’s IWD theme is “Embrace Equity”, what does equity mean to you in this role?

I consider equity in three distinct aspects of this role. 

Firstly in relation to our role in public health, I see equity as working to ensure everyone has the same opportunity to eat a healthy and safe diet, regardless of their individual circumstances. Demographic, social, economic or geographic disadvantage should not be a barrier to maintaining good health. Scotland, like many nations, still has a lot of progress to make on this. It is a complex and difficult issue, but that does not excuse us from making change and doing our utmost to enable everyone to have a healthy, affordable and sustainable diet.

Secondly, the functions of FSS with regards to the food businesses we regulate involves a different interpretation of equity. Ensuring that food standards and legislation protect public health and complies with government policy, without creating inequality or disadvantage for Scottish businesses across the UK, Europe or the world is a regular consideration of the Board.

And finally, as a leader in the organisation, I consider equity in relation to the opportunities given to the people working or seeking to work within FSS. Recruitment, training, staff development and opportunities to gain additional experience must be available to all. The Board only have a general oversight of this, however it affects me more directly in relation to the recruitment of Board members. It is not only important to have members with knowledge and experience in identified areas of expertise, but also to attract a diverse group – roughly representative of the population of Scotland. Our recent recruitment of four new Board members was partly successful in terms of geographic and age distribution, but there is still room for improvement. As a Board we have to be aware of the perspectives and life experience that is not present around the table and seek to address those gaps through consultation and engagement.