Chamber
Plenary, 25 Jan 2007
25 Jan 2007 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Crofting Reform etc Bill
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, and the minister, the former deputy minister, the present deputy minister in her former role as convener of the Environment and Rural Development Committee, the committee itself and the Parliament have worked hard to ensure that crofting communities will be sustained, neglect will be dealt with and new crofts will be created. The bill is still a substantial bill that will deliver substantial benefits.
The Labour Party has always argued that crofting is not a purely commercial enterprise but is about communities; that crofting should in no way be driven by market forces to the detriment of the crofting communities; that the Crofters Commission should do its duty; and that we must make crofting affordable and available to new young entrants, hundreds of whom are waiting for their chance to rent a croft.
It is important that we address the neglect of crofts, which the tighter rules in the bill should do. It will not prove comfortable for absentees or others who do not keep their land in good heart—"use it or lose it to someone who is prepared to work the croft" must now be the key phrase.
The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department has a responsibility, too. Crofting support schemes must be adequate to deal with the challenges of remoteness, poor land and harsh weather conditions, otherwise, as Rob Gibson said, land will perforce be neglected through lack of resources. SEERAD should be proactive in ensuring that those who qualify for grants are encouraged to take them up. I am particularly concerned to ensure that elderly crofters who are not used to filling in new forms are not penalised for making genuine mistakes in their application forms for grants, which could result in them losing money. SEERAD needs to be more helpful in that respect.
I do not exaggerate when I say that these are exciting times for the crofting counties and crofting communities. We are seeing history being made thanks to our land reform legislation, of which the bill is part. We see crofting community buyouts, the establishment of trusts, the huge potential for regenerating communities and the sustainability that can come from renewable energy projects, which are now supported by the bill's provisions on interposed leases. We see, too, the possibility of diversification into woodland crofts, perhaps to supply community biomass, or into vegetable growing, to supply local schools, hotels and local authority canteens, as demand grows for home-produced food.
There is still unfinished business. The committee of inquiry has been set up to examine the role of the Crofters Commission, in particular its structure and status and the way in which it uses its regulatory powers. That will be painful for the commission, but it is necessary. The process will be like removing a sticking plaster from a cut to let the fresh air heal it or stripping layers of wallpaper to repair the wear-and-tear cracks in the plaster in preparation for a perfect coat of paint—well, we hope so anyway.
The inquiry also needs to deal with the regulation of owner-occupiers, so that owner-occupier neglect can be dealt with. We must find robust ways of preventing croft houses and croft land from becoming the developer's dream or holiday hideaway.
I welcome the appointment of Mark Shucksmith as chair of the committee of inquiry. That was a brilliant stroke, considering his expertise in rural housing and other rural issues. Moves are already being made to bring the commission into the planning consultation process, which I hope should mean no more Taynuilts.
It remains for me to urge ministers not to let bad decisions be made between now and the implementation of the inquiry's findings and, in closing, to thank the committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament information centre researchers, who supported us so well.
I support the bill.
It is important that we have legislation that is fit for purpose, and the minister, the former deputy minister, the present deputy minister in her former role as convener of the Environment and Rural Development Committee, the committee itself and the Parliament have worked hard to ensure that crofting communities will be sustained, neglect will be dealt with and new crofts will be created. The bill is still a substantial bill that will deliver substantial benefits.
The Labour Party has always argued that crofting is not a purely commercial enterprise but is about communities; that crofting should in no way be driven by market forces to the detriment of the crofting communities; that the Crofters Commission should do its duty; and that we must make crofting affordable and available to new young entrants, hundreds of whom are waiting for their chance to rent a croft.
It is important that we address the neglect of crofts, which the tighter rules in the bill should do. It will not prove comfortable for absentees or others who do not keep their land in good heart—"use it or lose it to someone who is prepared to work the croft" must now be the key phrase.
The Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department has a responsibility, too. Crofting support schemes must be adequate to deal with the challenges of remoteness, poor land and harsh weather conditions, otherwise, as Rob Gibson said, land will perforce be neglected through lack of resources. SEERAD should be proactive in ensuring that those who qualify for grants are encouraged to take them up. I am particularly concerned to ensure that elderly crofters who are not used to filling in new forms are not penalised for making genuine mistakes in their application forms for grants, which could result in them losing money. SEERAD needs to be more helpful in that respect.
I do not exaggerate when I say that these are exciting times for the crofting counties and crofting communities. We are seeing history being made thanks to our land reform legislation, of which the bill is part. We see crofting community buyouts, the establishment of trusts, the huge potential for regenerating communities and the sustainability that can come from renewable energy projects, which are now supported by the bill's provisions on interposed leases. We see, too, the possibility of diversification into woodland crofts, perhaps to supply community biomass, or into vegetable growing, to supply local schools, hotels and local authority canteens, as demand grows for home-produced food.
There is still unfinished business. The committee of inquiry has been set up to examine the role of the Crofters Commission, in particular its structure and status and the way in which it uses its regulatory powers. That will be painful for the commission, but it is necessary. The process will be like removing a sticking plaster from a cut to let the fresh air heal it or stripping layers of wallpaper to repair the wear-and-tear cracks in the plaster in preparation for a perfect coat of paint—well, we hope so anyway.
The inquiry also needs to deal with the regulation of owner-occupiers, so that owner-occupier neglect can be dealt with. We must find robust ways of preventing croft houses and croft land from becoming the developer's dream or holiday hideaway.
I welcome the appointment of Mark Shucksmith as chair of the committee of inquiry. That was a brilliant stroke, considering his expertise in rural housing and other rural issues. Moves are already being made to bring the commission into the planning consultation process, which I hope should mean no more Taynuilts.
It remains for me to urge ministers not to let bad decisions be made between now and the implementation of the inquiry's findings and, in closing, to thank the committee clerks and the Scottish Parliament information centre researchers, who supported us so well.
I support the bill.
In the same item of business
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—