Robert McCulloch
Head of Scotland, Estates & Farm Agency Department
The Scottish Government has published A Consultation on the Future of Land Reform in Scotland in response to the recommendations contained within the government-appointed Land Reform Review Group’s (LRRG) report, The Land of Scotland and the Common Good which was published in May of this year.
The Scottish Government has published A Consultation on the Future of Land Reform in Scotland in response to the recommendations contained within the government-appointed Land Reform Review Group’s (LRRG) report, The Land of Scotland and the Common Good which was published in May of this year.
The LRRG Report contained 62 recommendations to the Scottish Government in accordance with the remit it was set ahead of the 2 year period of consultation which preceded the report.
The three objectives in the LRRGs remit are to:
1. Enable more people in rural and urban Scotland to have a stake in the ownership, governance, management and use of land which will lead to greater diversity of land ownership and ownership types in Scotland.
2. Assist with the acquisition and management of land (and also land assets) by communities to make stronger, more resilient, and independent communities which have an even greater stake in their development.
3. Generate, support, promote and deliver new relationships between land, people, economy and environment in Scotland.
In response to the LRRG recommendations, the new First Minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has announced that a ‘radical programme of land reform’ is high on the Scottish Government’s Agenda with the next stage being the preparation of a Land Reform Bill to be published in 2015.
It is intended that amongst the reform measures included within the Bill will be the following:
• Powers for Ministers to intervene where the scale of landholding or conduct of the landowner is deemed to be a barrier to sustainable development.
• The establishment of a Land Reform Commission tasked with developing the evidence base for future reform, and both supporting, and holding, public debate.
• Measures to improve the transparency and accountability of land ownership and make information on land, its value and ownership more readily available in one place.
• Action to ensure that charities holding large areas of land are under an obligation to engage with local communities; and:
• The removal of business rates exemptions for shooting and deer stalking estates, with the proceeds being used to increase the Scottish Land Fund.
In tandem with a Land Reform Bill, the Scottish Government is preparing a Land Rights and Responsibilities Policy to help guide the development of public policy on the nature and character of land rights in Scotland and to shape the drafting of the Land Reform Bill.
In order to draw up this policy, the 47-page document, A Consultation on the future of Land Reform in Scotland was published in early December 2014. This consultation sets out both the Scottish Government’s proposals for a Land Reform Bill and its vision for a Land Rights and Responsibilities Policy and encourages detailed responses from the public on each.
The Consultation period runs until 10 February 2015 following which the Land Reform Bill will be drafted and published and the Land Rights and Responsibilities Policy will be formulated.
We urge everyone interested in Scotland’s future – particularly in the Scottish countryside – to make their opinion count by engaging with this consultation process by writing to the Scottish Government, as invited, setting out their views and opinions. In our profession and amongst our clients, Land Reform is the hottest topic of conversation at present. The next 8 weeks or so is the critical period for those with a view to make their voices heard in the corridors of power in Scotland. The public have an opportunity to inform and shape the future of Land Reform and it is important to capitalise on that.