Crofting law

SHETLAND MSP Tavish Scott is urging the local agricultural community to make their views known on proposed changes to the crofting bill.

Earlier this year it emerged that under the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 tenants and owner-occupier crofters were not being treated equally when it came to their ability to decroft land.

Now legislation to correct this mistake has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament.

Crofters and anybody with a view on this issue have until next Friday (17 May) if they want to respond to the proposed changes.

Scott said people could either contact him with their views or respond directly to the parliament’s rural affairs, climate change and environment committee at racce.committee@scottish.parliament.uk

He added: “The Parliamentary scrutiny of this is very short and it is essential that the Scottish Government get it right.  We do not want any further shambles impacting Shetland’s crofters and their families.”

Rural affairs minister Paul Wheelhouse said on Friday that the government had been working extremely hard to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.

“This bill will provide legal certainty for all involved in the process on the competency of owner-occupier crofter applications to the Commission to decroft their land, including those already in receipt of a decrofting direction or those whose application is currently held in abeyance,” he added

Details of the bill can be found at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/S4_Bills/Crofting%20(Amendment)%20Bill/b31s4-introd.pdf