Hansard

The Presiding Officer (Alison Johnstone) NPA

The next item of business is a debate on motion S6M-19421, in the name of Mairi Gougeon, on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill at stage 3. I would be grateful i...

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands (Mairi Gougeon) SNP

I am pleased to open the debate on our Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. In the broad sweep of land reform history, today marks a watershed moment. It is a moment...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

Over the past six months, I have also been speaking to farmers and landowners, and one of the things that I have often heard is that landowners are now conce...

Mairi Gougeon SNP

That speaks to some of the claims that we have heard throughout the debate that the bill poses a threat to the letting of land in Scotland. However, the gene...

Tim Eagle (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests. I begin by recognising the work that has gone into the bill. I have appreciated the cons...

The Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity (Jim Fairlie) SNP

Will the member take an intervention?

Tim Eagle Con

I am happy to.

Jim Fairlie SNP

Does the member not recognise that in the programme for government, it was set out that all public landholdings should look at what opportunities they can cr...

Tim Eagle Con

I do remember seeing that, but I do not think that it has progressed since. The minister can correct me if I am wrong, but the Scottish Government has create...

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab) Lab

I thank the legislation team, which helped to draft amendments, and all the parliamentary staff who have assisted with the bill and those who have worked lat...

Douglas Lumsden Con

Will the member take an intervention?

Rhoda Grant Lab

Very briefly.

Douglas Lumsden Con

If the threshold had been reduced, how many family farms would it have brought into the scope of the bill?

The Presiding Officer NPA

I will give you the time back, Ms Grant.

Rhoda Grant Lab

Thank you, Presiding Officer. It would have been very few—more than 97 per cent of family farms are below that acreage. Neither does the bill take into sco...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Annabelle Ewing) SNP

Ms Grant, will you please conclude?

Rhoda Grant Lab

I ask the cabinet secretary to expedite applications so that those projects can begin work for their communities before the end of the session. 18:07

Ariane Burgess (Highlands and Islands) (Green) Green

Land is power, and those who have the land have the power. Nowhere is that more acutely felt than in the Highlands and Islands—the region that I represent—wh...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Ms Burgess, you will need to bring your remarks to a close. You are over your time.

Ariane Burgess Green

We accept that the bill moves things marginally in the right direction, but the pace of change is glacial. However, we will not dismiss the improvements that...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

Please conclude, Ms Burgess.

Ariane Burgess Green

For those reasons, the Scottish Greens will abstain on the bill. 18:11

Liam McArthur (Orkney Islands) (LD) LD

This has been a marathon process, which makes it all the more important that we acknowledge the work that has been put in by all those who have contributed. ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer SNP

We move to the open debate, with speeches of up to four minutes from back benchers. 18:15

Alasdair Allan (Na h-Eileanan an Iar) (SNP) SNP

Since it was reconvened, this Parliament has delivered radical and ambitious land reform, providing a challenge to the highly concentrated pattern of land ow...

Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con) Con

I remind members, as I constantly do, of my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am the owner of 202 hectares of land. I rent about 200 hectares of...

Richard Leonard (Central Scotland) (Lab) Lab

Presiding Officer, 2025 is a year of anniversaries. It is a quarter of a century since the death of Donald Dewar, who warned that Scotland’s land had “too m...

Ariane Burgess Green

The contributions that we have heard today reflect the depth of feeling about land reform across the chamber. I share the disappointment expressed by Rhoda G...

Mercedes Villalba (North East Scotland) (Lab) Lab

It is a great privilege to close this debate for Scottish Labour and to speak alongside my comrades Rhoda Grant and Richard Leonard. I start by paying tribut...

Douglas Lumsden (North East Scotland) (Con) Con

As we come to the end of the bill process, I can only reflect on the many substantive contributions from colleagues. As an Opposition, we have tried to amend...