Hansard

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman): Lab

The next item of business is a debate on motion S2M-5335, in the name of Ross Finnie, that the Parliament agrees that the Crofting Reform etc Bill be passed.

The Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Ross Finnie): LD

I will deal with the formal part first. For the purposes of rule 9.11 of the standing orders, I advise the Parliament that Her Majesty, having been informed ...

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): SNP

Can the minister clarify a matter in the interests of the staff who work for the Crofters Commission? Originally, the bill proposed that the commission shoul...

Ross Finnie: LD

As always, I am reluctant to anticipate the conclusions of an independent inquiry. Obviously, there will be no change unless the matter comes before Parliame...

Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): SNP

The Scottish National Party welcomes the final stage of the bill. The bill is equitable and achieves fairly small administrative changes that benefit crofter...

Mr Ted Brocklebank (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): Con

Members will be aware that the Conservatives opposed the bill at stage 1. We agreed with the Environment and Rural Development Committee's fairly devastating...

Maureen Macmillan (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): Lab

It is good to see the Crofting Reform etc Bill completing its passage through the Parliament.It is important that we have legislation that is fit for purpose...

Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD): LD

Crofting tenure has sustained rural communities in the crofting counties since the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 was passed and the legal concept of ...

Mr Alasdair Morrison (Western Isles) (Lab): Lab

A week last Friday, I attended the celebrations in the community of Ness when Galson estate, which covers some 54,000 acres and includes some 20 townships, m...

The Deputy Presiding Officer: Lab

I ask members please to ensure that their mobile phones are off.

Eleanor Scott (Highlands and Islands) (Green): Green

I add my thanks to everybody who has been involved in the bill—the committee clerks, people from the Scottish Parliament information centre and the people fr...

John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD): LD

This is an historic day and a debate in which I am delighted to be involved. Even the elements are kind to us today. The sun is shining down on us, so somebo...

Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con): Con

It is sad that John Farquhar Munro's sensible amendments to do with building on the common grazings and not on the arable parts of crofts were knocked back. ...

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): SNP

I, too, thank the Scottish Crofting Foundation for its help and support throughout the bill and pay tribute to the cross-party group on crofting. Of all the ...

Ross Finnie: LD

Will the member give way?

Fergus Ewing: SNP

I will in just a minute.I am genuinely perplexed about that and I am profoundly concerned about the implications of the decision.

Ross Finnie: LD

I can understand the member's concern. I think that that was the only occasion on which I personally had to make the decision. It might help the member to kn...

Fergus Ewing: SNP

I am grateful to the minister for that clarification, but I am still unclear about why he felt bound to take the decision that he did. Perhaps he and I can p...

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): LD

Fergus Ewing and Jamie McGrigor have set out a worthy list of priorities for the committee of inquiry. However, although we can hope that there may be no mor...

Fergus Ewing: SNP

No one disagrees that that is a major issue for the committee. I am sure that it will examine the matter thoroughly, as Jamie Stone has advocated.I would pre...

The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Sarah Boyack): Lab

Sometimes life takes unexpected twists and turns. Who would have thought that, after convening the Parliament's Environment and Rural Development Committee, ...

Mr McGrigor rose— Con

Sarah Boyack: Lab

Would Jamie McGrigor like to agree with me?

Mr McGrigor: Con

No. I suggest to the minister that it might have been more appropriate for the Executive to listen before the bill was written.

Sarah Boyack: Lab

There was a fair amount of consultation before the bill was introduced. If Jamie McGrigor reads the committee's conclusions, he will find a deep analysis of ...

The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh): Con

That concludes this item of business. For the benefit of members of the public in the gallery, I note that business has finished about five minutes early.

Meeting suspended until 11:40.

On resuming—