Meeting of the Parliament 16 March 2016
I note that the minister’s health is not 100 per cent, and I inform her that I have written out all my speeches in draft, so that if my voice goes, Claudia Beamish can stand in. I hope that it will not get to that point today, in what will clearly be a marathon session.
I very much welcome the land rights and responsibilities statement, which will help in implementing the legislation. Amendments 14 and 15 replace the words “fostering community resilience” with
“supporting and facilitating community empowerment”
in the list of factors that Scottish ministers must have regard to the desirability of when they are preparing the land rights and responsibilities statement.
When I proposed adding “fostering community resilience” at stage 2, I did so in part because it would be in line with the spirit of our other recent land reform legislation, the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. I was keen for us to establish clear links between the 2015 act and the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill, to ensure that the focus on community empowerment was maintained and strengthened.
The new wording of
“supporting and facilitating community empowerment”
is more appropriate, as it links directly to the kind of principles that the statement will contain. It also links back to the 2015 act, which seeks to support our communities to empower themselves through the ownership and use of land.
It is important that ministers are required, when preparing the statement, to have regard to the desirability of supporting and facilitating the empowerment of our communities. That requirement will ensure that our communities remain at the heart of our land reform agenda. Communities should be supported in taking responsibility for improving their interests and outcomes, and I believe that the land rights and responsibilities statement can play an important part in supporting their empowerment.
I very much hope that my amendments will be supported today. I am glad that the minister accepts them, and I hope that that support might mean that some of my other amendments, which are coming very shortly—[Interruption.]
No. Well, I thought that I would try. I will at least be glad that amendments 14 and 15 are likely to get through. Thank you very much.