Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2016
Amendments 34 to 38, 94 and 95 implement the commitment that I gave at stage 2 to amend the bill to include a power for the Scottish ministers to make regulations that will provide for the disclosure of information about persons who have a controlling interest in landowners and tenants and for that information to be published on a public register, which is to be kept by the keeper of the registers of Scotland.
Increasing the transparency of land ownership in Scotland is a key objective of the bill. During the bill’s passage, it became clear that the Parliament and stakeholders felt that we could do more to deliver in the area. Therefore, today I am bringing forward an amendment to introduce a regulation-making power that will enable the Government to develop proposals to address the many practical and legal issues that arise in this policy area. Amendment 34 puts in place a power that will enable the Scottish ministers to make regulations that will require the disclosure of information about persons who have a controlling interest in landowners and tenants, and the publication of that information in a public register, which is to be kept by the keeper.
To ensure that the policy objective of increasing the transparency of land ownership in Scotland can be achieved, the definition of persons who have a controlling interest in a landowner or tenant will be one of the key provisions set out in the regulations. It is clear that we will need to consult widely on the definition and the potential to use definitions in existing legislation. Most notably—[Interruption.]