Scottish Land Commission

Last updated

Scottish Land Commission
Scottish Gaelic: Coimisean Fearainn na h-Alba
Scottish Land Commission logo.png
Scottish Land Commission logo
Agency overview
Formed1 April 2017;6 years ago (1 April 2017)
Type Executive non-departmental public body
Jurisdiction Scotland
HeadquartersAn Lòchran, 10 Inverness Campus, Inverness, IV2 5NA
57°29′15″N4°13′36″W / 57.4876°N 4.2267°W / 57.4876; -4.2267
Agency executives
Parent department Scottish Government
Key document
Website landcommission.gov.scot
Map
Scotland in the UK and Europe.svg
Scotland in the UK and Europe

The Scottish Land Commission (Scottish Gaelic : Coimisean Fearainn na h-Alba) was established by the Scottish Government following the passage of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 by the Scottish Parliament; the Commission also incorporates the work of the Tenant Farming Commissioner. The Lands Commissioners, who constitute the Commission, have functions relating to land in Scotland, so that they address issues which relate to ownership of land, land rights, management of land, and use of land. The Tenant Farming Commissioner has the aim of improving the relationship between tenant farmers and land owners, and can create codes of practice, provide practical guidance, and must consult on such matters. The Tenant Farming Commissioner cannot be an agricultural landlord or agricultural tenant, and will develop codes of practice which are in addition to the law and the jurisdiction of the Scottish Land Court.

Contents

The Scottish Land Commission is a body concerned with looking at the concentration of land ownership, land taxation, and effective use of land for the common good. The Commission will also provide some scrutiny of those laws and policies that relate to land within Scotland. [1]

History

In 2013 Richard Lochhead MSP , then Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, announced the launch of the Agricultural Holdings Review, which would examine the situation of land ownership and use, tenant-owner relationships, and all of the relevant legislation. The Review published its final report in January 2015, and the recommendations were put out to consultation. [2]

In the final report Richard Lochead noted the importance of the relationships between landowners and tenants for the future of agriculture in Scotland, stating:

What we heard confirms to us that the future of the sector depends on productive relationships between tenants and landlords based on mutual trust, respect and confidence in the sector.

Ministerial Forward, Review of Agricultural Holdings Legislation Final Report [2] :3

Following the responses to the consultation the Scottish Government presented the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament on 22 June 2015. The Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 16 March 2016, and received Royal Assent on 22 March 2016 becoming Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. [3]

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill was criticised during its passage by the Delegated Powers and Law Reform Committee of the Scottish Parliament on the basis that it granted a significant power to Scottish Minister to implement much of the details of the Act through secondary legislation and delegated powers. Turcan Connell identified concerns around the implementation of the Act and the amount of scrutiny the detailed law would receive. [4]

On 1 March 2016 concerns were also raised by Scottish Land and Estates about the passage of the Land Reform Bill, the body that represents Scotland's rural landowners, who felt that the good that landowners did was ignored in favour of "being radical". Scottish Land and Estates, further asserted that how land is used is as important as who owns that land. Aileen McLeod MSP , as Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform addressed the members of Scottish Land and Estates, who recognised the expertise of land owners in managing land, affirming that the intention is bring about balance in the tenant/land owner relationship, and to ensure everyone who has stake in land ownership and management is involved. She stated the Bill was about spreading good practice around Scotland,

There are many good examples of communities and landowners working together for mutual benefit, and a key aim of the Bill will be to encourage wider adoption of good practice. ... I recognise the expertise and role of land owners in managing land, and the contribution that many landowners make to our economy at both a local and national level.

Aileen McLeod, Speech to Scottish Land and Estates [5]

Libby Brooks, writing in The Guardian newspaper on 17 March 2016, reported dissatisfaction with the new law from the Scottish Green Party for not being radical enough. Andy Wightman MSP , land reform spokesperson for the Scottish Green Party, was disappointed that the Land Reform (Scotland) Act did not outlaw the ownership of Scottish land by offshore companies in tax havens. Brooks also reported dissatisfaction that the Act does not restrict the amount of land that can be owned by any one individual. [6]

The Commission was established by the Scottish Government on 1 April 2017 by The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2016 made under the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016. [7]

Headquarters

It is headquartered at Longman House in Inverness. There is a staff of around twenty: five Land Commissioners, the Tenant Farming Commissioner and support staff. The interim chief executive officer was announced as Hilary Pearce, a civil servant in the Scottish government seconded to the post. [8]

Commissioners

Nomination

The first commissioners were proposed in November 2016: Andrew Thin, Professor David Adams, Lorne MacLeod, Sally Reynolds, Megan MacInnes and Bob McIntosh as the Tenant Farming Commissioner. [9]

The nominated Commissioners were considered by the Environment, Climate Change, and Land Reform Committee of Scottish Parliament, which reported on 8 December 2016, recommending that the Scottish Parliament approve the appointment of the Commissioners. Nonetheless, the Committee did recommend that Bob McIntosh, proposed Tenant Farming Commissioner, should resign from membership of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors to maintain the perception of impartiality; the Committee believed McIntosh was in good a position for building relationships with both landowners and tenants. The Committee also recommended that Lorne MacLeod stand down as Chairman of Community Land Scotland and as a director of community owned land on Eriskay, and asked the Scottish Government to provide a date for when appointments to the Commission would be regulated by the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland. [10]

The Report of the Environment, Climate Change, and Land Reform Committee was noted by the Scottish Parliament on 13 December 2016, and approved the appointment of the Land Commissioners (including the Tenant Farming Commissioner). [11]

Chairman

The first chairman, Andrew Thin, was previously the Scottish Government's Independent Advisor on Tenant Farming, and was involved in the establishment of the Cairngorms National Park Authority and had previously worked for Scottish Natural Heritage. [12]

Tenant Farming Commissioner

The Tenant Farming Commissioner cannot be an agricultural landlord or agricultural tenant, and will develop codes of practice which are in addition to the law and the jurisdiction of the Scottish Land Court. The Tenant Farming Commissioner has the power to investigate breaches of the codes of practice. [13]

As reported in The Herald newspaper on 11 August 2016, Christopher Nicholson of the Scottish Tenant Farming Association stated that the creation of a Tenant Farming Commissioner had the support of both landowners and tenants. [14] The Agriculture Holdings Review had identified examples of dysfunctional relationships between landlords and tenants, with Bob McIntosh stating,

The Agriculture Holdings Review identified examples of dysfunctional landlord/tenant relationships based on a ‘them and us’ culture, so a culture change towards a more mutually beneficial partnership approach would represent success.

Bob McIntosh, Interview in The Scotsman - Co-operation is key for farm tenancy relationships [15]

The Press and Journal newspaper, reported on 8 April 2017 that Bob McIntosh, the first Tenant Farming Commissioner, was hoping that the Codes of Practice he would develop would help tenants and landowners to resolve disputes without recourse to the Scottish Land Court. He stated that he would be able to investigate instances where a landlord or tenant had not complied with the Codes of Practice, following the lodging of a formal complaint. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tenant farmer</span> Farmer whose land is owned by a landlord

A tenant farmer is a person who resides on land owned by a landlord. Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management, while tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying amounts of capital and management. Depending on the contract, tenants can make payments to the owner either of a fixed portion of the product, in cash or in a combination. The rights the tenant has over the land, the form, and measures of payment vary across systems. In some systems, the tenant could be evicted at whim ; in others, the landowner and tenant sign a contract for a fixed number of years. In most developed countries today, at least some restrictions are placed on the rights of landlords to evict tenants under normal circumstances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irish National Land League</span> Late 19th century Irish political organisation

The Irish National Land League, or commonly the "Land League", was an Irish political organisation of the late 19th century which organised tenant farmers in their resistance to exactions of landowners. Its primary aim was to abolish landlordism in Ireland and enable tenant farmers to own the land they worked on. The period of the Land League's agitation is known as the Land War. Historian R. F. Foster argues that in the countryside the Land League "reinforced the politicization of rural Catholic nationalist Ireland, partly by defining that identity against urbanization, landlordism, Englishness and—implicitly—Protestantism." Foster adds that about a third of the activists were Catholic priests, and Archbishop Thomas Croke was one of its most influential champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highland Land League</span> Political group active in the 1880s and 1890s

The first Highland Land League emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Association and the Crofters' Party. It was consciously modelled on the Irish Land League.

A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a leasehold estate is typically considered personal property.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land tenure</span> Legal regime in which area owned by an individual is held by another person

In common law systems, land tenure, from the French verb "tenir" means "to hold", is the legal regime in which land "owned" by an individual is possessed by someone else who is said to "hold" the land, based on an agreement between both individuals. It determines who can use land, for how long and under what conditions. Tenure may be based both on official laws and policies, and on informal local customs. In other words, land tenure implies a system according to which land is held by an individual or the actual tiller of the land but this person does not have legal ownership. It determines the holder's rights and responsibilities in connection with their holding. The sovereign monarch, known in England as the Crown, held land in its own right. All land holders are either its tenants or sub-tenants. Tenure signifies a legal relationship between tenant and lord, arranging the duties and rights of tenant and lord in relationship to the land. Over history, many different forms of land tenure, i.e., ways of holding land, have been established.

As a legal term, ground rent specifically refers to regular payments made by a holder of a leasehold property to the freeholder or a superior leaseholder, as required under a lease. In this sense, a ground rent is created when a freehold piece of land is sold on a long lease or leases. The ground rent provides an income for the landowner. In economics, ground rent is a form of economic rent meaning all value accruing to titleholders as a result of the exclusive ownership of title privilege to location.

The Land Acts were a series of measures to deal with the question of tenancy contracts and peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by the government of the United Kingdom between 1870 and 1909. Further acts were introduced by the governments of the Irish Free State after 1922 and more acts were passed for Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crofting</span> Form of land tenure particular to the Scottish Highlands

Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man. Within the 19th-century townships, individual crofts were established on the better land, and a large area of poorer-quality hill ground was shared by all the crofters of the township for grazing of their livestock. In the 21st century, crofting is found predominantly in the rural Western and Northern Isles and in the coastal fringes of the western and northern Scottish mainland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created legal definitions of crofting parish and crofter, granted security of land tenure to crofters and produced the first Crofters Commission, a land court which ruled on disputes between landlords and crofters. The same court ruled on whether parishes were or were not crofting parishes. In many respects the Act was modelled on the Irish Land Acts of 1870 and 1881. By granting the crofters security of tenure, the Act put an end to the Highland Clearances.

The Irish Land Commission was created by the British crown in 1843 to "inquire into the occupation of the land in Ireland. The office of the commission was in Dublin Castle, and the records were, on its conclusion, deposited in the records tower there, from whence they were transferred in 1898 to the Public Record Office". It took on the role of a rent fixing commission in 1881 under the Land Law (Ireland) Act 1881. For a century it was the body responsible for re-distributing farmland in most of Ireland. It was formally abolished in 1999.

The Napier Commission, officially the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Condition of Crofters and Cottars in the Highlands and Islands was a royal commission and public inquiry into the condition of crofters and cottars in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Registers of Scotland</span>

Registers of Scotland (RoS) is the non-ministerial department of the Scottish Government responsible for compiling and maintaining records relating to property and other legal documents. They currently maintain 20 public registers. The official responsible with maintaining the Registers of Scotland is the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland. By ex officio, the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland is also the Deputy Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. The Keeper of the Registers of Scotland should not be confused with the Keeper of the Records of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land reform in Scotland</span> Ongoing political and legal process in Scotland

Land reform in Scotland is the ongoing process by which the ownership of land, its distribution and the law which governs it is modified, reformed and modernised by property and regulatory law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Land Court</span>

The Scottish Land Court is a Scottish court of law based in Edinburgh with subject-matter jurisdiction covering disputes between landlords and tenants relating to agricultural tenancies, and matters related to crofts and crofters. The Scottish Land Court is both a trial court and an appeal court; hearings at first-instance are often heard by a Divisional Court of one of the Agricultural Members advised by the Principal Clerk. Decisions of the Divisional Court can be appealed to the Full Court, which will consist of at least one legally qualified judicial member and the remaining Agricultural Member. Some cases are heard at first-instance by the Full Court, and these cases may be appealed to the Inner House of the Court of Session.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agriculture in the United Kingdom</span> Economic sector in the United Kingdom

Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 69% of the country's land area, employs 1% of its workforce and contributes 0.5% of its gross value added. The UK currently produces about 60% of its domestic food consumption.

Agrarian reform and land reform have been a recurring theme of enormous consequence in world history. They are often highly political and have been achieved in many countries.

Land reform in the Philippines has long been a contentious issue rooted in the Philippines's Spanish Colonial Period. Some efforts began during the American Colonial Period with renewed efforts during the Commonwealth, following independence, during Martial Law and especially following the People Power Revolution in 1986. The current law, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, was passed following the revolution and extended until 2014.

The Pubs Code etc. Regulations 2016 were introduced by the UK Government as part of the Small Business Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. The code was passed on 14 June 2016 and implemented on 21 July 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which continues the process of land reform in Scotland following the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. It is notable for granting Scottish ministers the power to force the sale of private land to community bodies to further sustainable development in the absence of a willing seller.

Concentration of land ownership refers to the ownership of land in a particular area by a small number of people or organizations. It is sometimes defined as additional concentration beyond that which produces optimally efficient land use.

References

  1. Kirkaldy, Liam (23 September 2016). "Roseanna Cunningham: Land Commission will mean an end to the "stop-start nature of land reform"". Holyrood . Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 Review of Agricultural Holdings Legislation Final Report (PDF) (Report). Edinburgh: Scottish Government. January 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2017.  
  3. "Land Reform (Scotland) Bill". www.parliament.scot. 18 June 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  4. "Land Reform Update - April 2016". Turcan Connell. 27 April 2016. Archived from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  5. "Dr Aileen McLeod address to Scottish Land Owners - Scottish Countryside Alliance". countryside-alliance.org. 1 March 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  6. Brooks, Libby (17 March 2016). "A new dawn for land reform in Scotland?". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  7. Scottish Parliament. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 (Commencement No. 4, Transitional and Saving Provisions) Regulations 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  8. "Inverness headquarters for Scottish Land Commission". BBC News . 14 October 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  9. "Will they deliver? The six commissioners proposed to advance land reform". CommonSpace . 11 November 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  10. 4th Report 2016 (Session 5): Appointment of the Scottish Land Commissioners and the Tenant Farming Commissioner (PDF). parliament.scot (Report). Scottish Parliament. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  11. "Motion S5M-03099: Appointment of Scottish Land Commissioners and the Tenant Farming Commissioner". Chamber Office. Motions, Questions and Answers. Scottish Parliament. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  12. Davidson, Gordon (18 November 2016). "Scotland's first Land Commission appointed". The Scottish Farmer. Newsquest Herald and Times Group Ltd. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  13. Blair, Mike (April 2016). "A Brief Guide to Land Reform in Scotland - April 2016" (PDF). gillespiemacandrew.co.uk. Gillespie MacAndrew and Hunters Residential. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  14. Wood, Rog (11 August 2016). "Process of setting up a Scottish Land Commission under way". The Herald . Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  15. Henderson, Brian (3 January 2017). "Co-operation is key for farm tenancy relationships". The Scotsman . Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  16. "Rural Relationships in Focus". Press and Journal newspaper. 7 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017 via PressReader.