LAND REFORM - WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Last week, the Scottish Parliament debated the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill and agreed by a majority that it should go on to the next stage of the parliamentary process. However, the Bill remains controversial and amendments will be needed before it becomes law.

The Bill, which aims to reform the law relating to large landholdings and leases of rural land, was introduced by the Scottish Government in March 2024. The Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee (the lead parliamentary committee for the Bill) then examined the Bill through “evidence sessions”, involving contributions from individuals and organisations with knowledge of subject matter. Before last week’s debate, the Committee published a report about what it had heard during these evidence sessions and giving its own view of the Bill. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands issued a response to the report before the debate, indicating that a number of recommendations made by the Committee would be considered and/or brought forward at the next stage of the Bill.

While most of the Committee supported the general principles of the Bill, criticism was directed at the proposals restricting transfers of large landholdings, describing the approach as “potentially burdensome and bureaucratic” and one which risked failing to deliver on its policy aims. The Committee was supportive of most of the proposed changes to agricultural legislation but said that care would need to be taken to “strike the right balance between landlord and tenant” noting concerns about the decline in agricultural tenancies. It went on to say that “there must…be broader consideration, over and above legal reforms, of how to actively encourage the leasing of land for agriculture”.

Key issues at last week’s debate included the large landholdings thresholds which apply to land management plans (currently 3,000 ha with special rules for islands) and restrictions on transfers of land (currently 1,000ha) and the lack of a public interest test on transfer. The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands had already confirmed in her report that further thought would be given to aligning the large landholdings thresholds across the Bill. It is likely that proposals reducing the thresholds will be amongst the amendments put forward at the next stage of the Bill.

The controversial Bill has significant implications for Scottish landowners and will now move to the amendment stage.