Election time is nearly upon us in Scotland and Wales - on May the 7th we head to the polls to elect a new Welsh Senedd and Scottish Parliament.
In anticipation, The Policy, Campaigns and Public Affairs team at the BDA have trawled through party manifestos, mapping out the priorities of each party and their relevance to the dietetic workforce.
A political party’s manifesto usually sets out what problems they say they’ll tackle, what policies they propose to tackle them, spending or reform commitments and what they want a mandate to deliver if elected.
Our own Holyrood and Senedd Manifestos for 2026 state that dietitians are key to unlocking the prevention aspirations in our devolved nations. Demanding support for the dietetic workforce through AHP and dietetic leadership and championing prescribing rights, investment education and training, and trusting dietitians with food policy.
We assessed all party manifestos in Wales and Scotland using terms like; dietitians, AHPs, Prevention, Primary Care, Apprenticeships and Food. We are not party affiliated and aim to give unbiased overview of how the issues pertinent to the dietetic workforce have been considered in manifestos.
Wales
Plaid Cymru Manifesto for the Senedd Election 2026 - ‘For Wales’
|
AHPs |
|
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to developing a plan to grow the NHS workforce (including a commitment to support AHPs), bringing forward a national Food Strategy and expanding free school meals. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Emphasis of food policies is not on improving nutrition. Lacks recognition of the role dietitians and other experts on nutrition can play in public health and prevention. |
Reform Wales Senedd Manifesto 2026
|
AHPs |
X* |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to implementing an NHS workforce review to fill gaps and improve retention. Commits to develop a food strategy. Commits to prevention and early intervention measures on diet related disease, including strengthening healthy weight programmes and a national cardiovascular prevention plan. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Dismisses some measures to improve healthy food environments as “nanny state” interventions. Food policies make no explicit mention of nutrition or public health. |
*mentions “other healthcare professionals”
Wales Green Party Senedd Manifesto 2026
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to a workforce plan for the NHS which recognises rising rates of diabetes and other chronic conditions. Recognises the role social conditions play in health outcomes. Commits to a Good Food Bill that would embed public health in food production planning. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Lacks detailed and specific actions. No explicit recognition of nutrition experts or AHPs. |
Welsh Conservatives Party Manifesto 2026 - ‘Fix Wales’
|
AHPs |
|
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to an NHS workforce plan specifically for AHPs, based on safe staffing levels. Commits to following recommendations of the Independent Pay Review Body. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Food and public health policies make no mention of nutrition or food environments. Leaves little room for pay restoration. |
Welsh Labour Manifesto 2026 - ‘A New Chapter for Wales’
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to an NHS workforce plan and expand education through more flexible training options. Aims to create healthier food environments, for example using the planning system. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Commitments lack detail, specificity and ambition. No explicit recognition of the role and potential of AHPs in the NHS or dietitians in food policy. |
Welsh Liberal Democrat Manifesto 2026 - ‘A Stronger Wales in a Stronger UK’
|
AHPs |
|
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Commits to recruit more AHPs to end staff shortages. Commits to a National Food Strategy with the explicit aim of improving health and nutrition. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
No commitment for workforce planning to support AHP recruitment. Lacks detail on how food policies would improve public health. |
Welsh Manifestos – Overall Takeaways
These manifestos are generally a positive outcome for the BDA, with several asks of our priority campaigns featuring prominently. There is broad recognition of the need for workforce planning within the NHS. AHPs are mentioned explicitly as part of this in several instances, with need to grow the workforce also recognised, though with little detail on how this would be achieved. There is also frequent acknowledgement of the need for a more strategic approach to food policy, though often this does not emphasise improving dietary health. Dietitians in Wales should prepare for the development and implementation of an NHS workforce plan and a national food strategy over the next four years.
While long term health service planning and investment in primary care is a common feature, prevention of ill health, especially through improved nutrition, deserves more recognition. The potentially for nutrition experts such as dietitians to contribute to this is disappointingly absent.
We have work to do
The BDA will be focusing its Welsh public affairs work in the new Senedd term on these manifesto commitments, which are likely to be the focal points of the next Welsh Government’s work on priority issues for dietitians. We will be making in the strongest possible terms the case for recognising the role dietitians play and their potential for improving the nation’s health.
Scotland
Conservatives Manifesto for Scotland 2026 – Get Scotland Working
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Focus on system redesign including workforce planning, community access, and increased NHS budget with reducing waiting lists as number one priority. A commitment to walk-in mental health hubs. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
NHS plans focus largely on appointments, waiting lists and medical conditions beyond much of AHP practice. Commitment to all health boards prescribing weight-loss drugs (GLP-1s), but no recognition of dietitians’ role in their administration or wider food policy measures in obesity prevention. |
Scottish Greens ‘Lets Demand Better’ Manifesto for 2026
|
AHPs |
|
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Explicit recognition AHPs not only as part of the workforce, but as central to delivering prevention, right to rehabilitation and community-based care. Strong public health approach to obesity; creating healthier food environments through commitment to expanding universal free school meals and restricting unhealthy food marketing. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Lack of detail about funded workforce expansion and delivery mechanisms of commitments around preventative care. Not enough attention to the dietetic workforce and nutrition services needed to deliver public health ambitions. |
Scottish Labour ‘Scotland Needs Change’ Manifesto 2026
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Emphasis on integrated neighbourhood-based care, with rehabilitation and multidisciplinary working positioned as core to service reform. Commitment to developing a 10-year workforce plan and commitment to deliver a ‘right to rehab’. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
No recognition of AHPs as a distinct workforce to deliver multidisciplinary working, no detail on how professions could be supported or developed to deliver ambitions. |
Liberal Democrats ‘Change with Fairness at it’s Heart’ Manifesto 2026
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
|
|
Key Strengths |
Explicit, concrete recognition of AHPs in multidisciplinary workforce reform, by embedding 900 new multidisciplinary patient-facing staff in GP practices and neighbourhood health teams and recognising that dietitians are essential for prevention agenda. Delivering a ‘Fair Deal for Rural Healthcare’. Commitments to make healthy, nutritious food more affordable and accessible and expanding FSM. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Limited policy focus on nutrition and food-related prevention, despite recognising dietitians in delivery. Focus on expanding access to healthy food rather than regulation. |
Reform UK Manifesto for Scotland 2026
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Key Strengths |
Recognition that prevention, community-based services and social care integration should play a greater role in NHS reform. |
|
Obvious Gaps |
Workforce plan mentions doctors and nurses, not wider professions. Very limited focus on wider determinants of health, no substantive engagement with food or nutrition as public health issues. |
SNP Manifesto for 2026 ‘Always on Scotland’s Side’
|
AHPs |
X |
|
Dietitians |
X |
|
Strengths |
Strong on AHP priorities like community-based care, prevention, public health priorities including food insecurity, digital reform, public service redesign and sustainability. Delivering ‘NHS Job Guarantee’ and investing record amounts in primary care. Recognition that food affordability is a public health issue and a range of measures to improve population health combining prevention, healthier food access, action on wider determinants and regulatory measures. |
|
Gaps |
No explicit mention of AHPs as integral to delivering these priorities, and not strong on food-environment regulation. |
Scottish Manifestos – Overall Takeaways
Across parties, there is encouraging alignment with many AHP priorities, particularly around prevention, public health, rehabilitation and community-based care. However, explicit recognition of AHPs and particularly dietitians as a workforce remains inconsistent, and ambitions for prevention are often stronger than the workforce detail underpinning them.
With strong recognition of the need to address population health, dietetic priorities and the dietetic workforce remain largely unrecognised as essential to addressing growing pressures related to long-term conditions, undernutrition and public health.
We have work to do
The BDA will continue working with political parties, parliamentarians and partners to ensure dietitians and AHPs are not only reflected in Scottish policy ambitions, but recognised as essential to delivering them. Through advocacy, evidence and engagement, we will keep raising the profile of our profession on the political agenda.