Published 4th December 2015 SP Paper 845 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Web Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill Cover images copyright: Bottom left: "Red deer stag” by Mehmet Karatay - Own work. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Bottom right: "Livingston, West Lothian" by Kim Traynor - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons All other images copyright SPCB Published in Scotland by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. All documents are available on the Scottish For information on the Scottish Parliament Parliament website at: contact Public Information on: www.scottish.parliament.uk/documents Telephone: 0131 348 5000 Textphone: 0800 092 7100 Email: [email protected] © Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body The Scottish Parliament’ copyright policy can be found on the website – www.scottish.parliament.uk Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Contents Executive summary 1 Introduction 5 Rural Affairs Climate Change and Environment Committee scrutiny 6 Engagement 7 Background to and purpose of the Bill 15 Contents of the Bill 16 Policy Memorandum 19 Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment 20 Financial Memorandum 21 Drafting and delegated powers 21 Drafting 21 Delegated powers 23 Sustainable development and equalities (with health inequalities) 26 Sustainable development 26 Equalities (including health inequalities) 27 Human rights 29 Introduction and background 29 European Convention on Human Rights 29 European Convention on Human Rights comment in the Policy Memorandum32 Other international human rights obligations 34 Part 1 – Land rights and responsibilities statement 35 Part 2 – The Scottish Land Commission 38 The Commission 38 The Land Commissioners 40 Required expertise and/or experience 40 Scope of remit 42 The Tenant Farming Commissioner 43 Part 3 – Information about the control of land 45 Right of access to information on persons in control of land 46 Power of the Keeper to request information relating to proprietors of land 48 Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Transparency of land ownership 50 Part 4 – Engaging communities in decisions relating to land 55 Part 5 – Right to buy land to further sustainable development 59 Background and policy intentions 59 Key terms and definitions 63 Register of Land for Sustainable Development 65 Application and approval procedures 66 Procedures following consent 68 Part 6 – Entry in valuation roll of shooting and deer forests 69 Background and policy intention 69 Definition, valuation and revenue 72 Conservation and deer management 75 Part 7 – Common Good Land 77 Part 8 – Deer management 78 Background and policy intention 78 Progress 80 Lowland deer issues 82 Functions of deer panels 83 Deer management plans 84 Increase in penalty for failure to comply with a control scheme 85 Part 9 – Access rights 86 Background and policy intention 86 Core path plans 86 Service of court applications 87 Part 10 – Agricultural holdings 87 Background and policy intentions 88 Chapter 1 - Modern Limited Duration Tenancies 91 Conversion of 1991 Act tenancies into Modern Limited Duration Tenancies 96 Chapter 2 - Tenant‘s right to buy 100 Chapter 3 - Sale where landlord in breach 102 Chapter 4 - Rent reviews 104 Chapter 5 - Assignation of and succession to agricultural tenancies 108 Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Chapter 6 - Compensation for tenant‘s improvements 113 Chapter 7 - Improvements by landlord 115 Other agricultural tenancy issues 116 Resolving disputes 116 Long leases and small landholders 117 Condition and provision of housing 118 Right to buy for 1991 Act tenants 119 Part 11 – General and miscellaneous 120 Other issues 121 Rural housing 121 Annexe A 132 Annexe B 136 Annexe C 141 Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee This Committee’s work focuses on agriculture, fisheries, rural development, climate change, the environment and other matters falling within the responsibility of the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment. scottish.parliament.uk/rural [email protected] 0131 348 5051 Follow the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee @SP_RuralClimate Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Committee Membership Convener Deputy Convener Rob Gibson Graeme Dey Scottish National Party Scottish National Party Claudia Beamish Alex Fergusson Scottish Labour Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Sarah Boyack Jim Hume Scottish Labour Scottish Liberal Democrats Angus MacDonald Michael Russell Scottish National Party Scottish National Party Dave Thompson Scottish National Party Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) Executive summary 1. The Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee has been considering many of the issues featured in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill throughout this session of Parliament. One of its first pieces of work was to look at the post-legislative scrutiny commissioned by its predecessor committee in Session 3 on the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. In this session the Committee has scrutinised the Scottish Government commissioned reviews of both land reform and agricultural holdings every step of the way; and has also scrutinised Bills on agricultural holdings; crofting; community empowerment and right to buy changes; and long leases. Before scrutiny of this Bill began the Committee had already heard a wide range of views on issues such as land reform, land management, community empowerment, agricultural holdings, and deer management, both formally at the Parliament in Edinburgh and informally during visits across the country. The Committee therefore began its scrutiny of the Bill with extensive background knowledge of many of the issues involved and a well-informed understanding of the problems that need to be resolved. 2. In scrutinising the Bill the Committee has continued to hear from, and engage with, as many people as possible across the country, and embarked on an extensive evidence-gathering and engagement exercise. Indeed, before the Bill had even been formally introduced the Committee travelled to Kirkwall in Orkney to listen to views on the Scottish Government‘s consultation proposals. The Committee issued a call for written submissions; held public evidence sessions, including two formal meetings outside Edinburgh (in Skye and Dumfries); and visited Islay; Jura; Fife, and the Scottish Borders to meet people with direct experience of the issues dealt with in the Bill. In Jura and Dumfries the Committee held public meetings where people came along and put questions about the Bill and its potential consequences directly to members of the Committee. The Committee also engaged via social media (Twitter, You Tube and Facebook), publishing videos, photographs and other information, to maximise its engagement. This Bill will affect many people and communities across Scotland and it was therefore vital that the Committee‘s scrutiny was informed by as many people as possible. 1 Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee Stage 1 Report on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, 10th Report, 2015 (Session 4) 3. The Committee has listened to all opinions on the Bill very carefully and gives detailed views in this report. The Committee believes that the Bill should be bold in its ambition and clear in its purpose, in order that many of the issues which have undermined the confidence and trust that people in Scotland have in the ownership, and use of land, can be settled for a long time to come. Whilst acknowledging that the Bill is part of an on-going land reform journey, it needs to deliver a rebalancing of the rights of people and property, and to tackle the current unhealthy balance of power, so that everyone in Scotland can have an improved relationship with, and connection to, the land on which they live and work. 4. The Bill could result in real progress in delivering equalities and health inequalities benefits, particularly through the parts of the Bill relating to: the establishment of a Scottish Land Commission; access to information about those in control of land; community engagement and right to buy, and agricultural holdings (in terms of both age and gender issues). The Bill should be able to create an environment where land in Scotland can be owned, managed, tenanted and enjoyed by every part of society and to the benefit of all its people. 5. Whilst the Committee supports many of the general principles of the Bill and many of the measures within it, it is clear that some parts of it are unlikely to fully deliver the ambitions of the consultation and review processes which informed it. The Committee is concerned that a number of the important provisions are to be taken forward via secondary legislation and are therefore lacking in detail at this stage. This has made scrutinising