LAND REFORM REVIEW GROUP INTERIM REPORT

Posted on 19 August 2013

The Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) is tasked with generating proposals to:-

• 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 a greater diversity of land ownership, and ownership types, in Scotland;
• 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;
• Generate, support, promote, and deliver new relationships between land, people, economy and environment in Scotland.

The Group has recently published its interim report which also outlines the next steps and themes for a more targeted and focused Phase Two review based on emerging themes from Phase One. The report from this phase is due in December 2013.

It is clear from the interim report that the LRRG is mainly focussed on community issues and not those facing the nation’s tenanted sector. The interim report from LRRG states:

“through the submissions and visits, we are aware of the complexities of farming tenancies. This aspect of rural Scotland is clearly problematic and requires sensitive and expert attention. For the LRRG to address these issues would be to interfere with the work of the TFF and to stray considerably away from our remit which focuses on communities rather than relationships between individuals. We urge the TFF to respond constructively to the tenants’ concerns and proposals. Having spent time on the issue during the first phase of the review we would be interested in sharing perspectives with the TFF through our advisers as appropriate but we do not intend to report further on this matter, except where it can be addressed within the context of community ownership.”

The full report can be downloaded from the Scottish Government website.