Statement on Scottish Government Response to NZET Committee Land Reform Bill Report

Press Release

The Scottish Government is failing to act decisively on key flaws in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill which is being debated in the Scottish Parliament.

Following publication of a key government report on the Bill today, Scottish Land & Estates said that the Scottish Government had ‘dodged’ fundamental problems with the Bill and were opting to ‘kick the can down the road’.

Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive, Scottish Land & Estates, said: “ The Scottish Government’s response to the NZET Committee’s critical report on the Bill is deeply disappointing on many fronts. There have been genuine concerns from all views of the land reform debate that the Bill in its current form is unworkable. Instead of getting to grips with these fundamental flaws, the Cabinet Secretary has chosen to tinker round the edges, kicking the can down the road and giving future Ministers carte blanche to interfere in how privately held land is managed and owned.

“The government’s thinking appears worryingly inconsistent, as on one hand it is trying to stick to its original proposal on intervening on sales of land over 3,000 hectares, whilst on the other hand it is trying to placate voices demanding a much lower threshold, which would drag many other types of landholdings into the affected category. It appears the government wants to stick to its guns whilst leaving the door open to unscrutinised changes in the future.

“Ministers keep saying that the issue is concentration of landownership but the Bill is all about scale, and the unevidenced big is bad approach to land ownership – even though Scottish Ministers are the largest landowners in Scotland.

“A further glaring problem is that it is being pushed through before an impending review on community right to buy is undertaken. It is blindingly obvious that these issues should be considered in tandem. As the lead Parliamentary committees says, why are we only considering one small piece of the puzzle?

“We are deeply disappointed that the government remains committed to its plans to act as an estate agent, forcing the fragmentation of land that is delivering benefits at scale. We believe this is a fundamental assault on property rights and could land the Scottish taxpayer with substantial compensation payments because of loss of value. We welcome the fact that government accept that a timescale for Ministers getting involved in lotting estates is necessary but there are many other fundamental issues around this policy that have been raised but not addressed. This is a key failure of this Bill.

“In relation to Part 2 of the Bill covering agricultural issues, the government has confirmed that its priorities are looking after the interests of existing tenant farmers. This puts to one side the industry’s priorities of ensuring there is a thriving tenanted sector in the future. We do however, welcome the fact that the Cabinet Secretary will look at the alternative to valuing compensation for resumption of part of a tenancy, that Tenant Farming Advisory Forum is developing.”