Land Reform In A Net Zero Nation Consultation Paper

• Published date: 09 August 2022
• Subject Matter: Real Estate and Construction, Real Estate, Landlord & Tenant - Leases
• Law Firm: Shepherd and Wedderburn LLP
• Author: Mr Harry Oliff

Last month the Scottish Government published "Land Reform in a Net Zero Nation", a consultation paper on a new Land Reform Bill. The paper sets out the proposals for the bill and seeks views on various related issues, including measures aimed at "large-scale holdings", changes to subsidies, the introduction of a new type of agricultural tenancy, and transparency of land ownership.

Large-scale holdings

Three proposals have been put forward which are intended to apply to "large-scale" landholdings. What is meant by "large-scale" has not yet been formulated by the Scottish Government, which is seeking views on this. The measures are not expected to capture family farms, and it is suggested that a landholding will be large-scale if it is over 3,000 hectares in extent; accounts for more than a fixed percentage of a local area; or accounts for more than a specified minimum proportion of a permanently inhabited island.

The three proposals are as follows:

1. Strengthening the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS)

The LRRS was introduced by the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 and required Scottish Ministers to produce a statement which sets out the vision and principles for land rights and responsibilities in Scotland.

Currently, the LRRS is voluntary. The consultation paper recognises the limitations which the voluntary approach brings and proposes to introduce measures placing a legal duty on large-scale holding landowners to comply with the LRRS. Alongside this, a statutory process to adjudicate on complaints of non-compliance and responses to breaches would be introduced.

It is envisioned that this would be akin to the model of the Tenant Farming Commissioner Codes of Practice, and would be underpinned by statutory Codes of Practice or protocols.

2. Compulsory Land Management Plans

Currently, there are no requirements for landowners to make available to the public their medium or long term plans for their land. The consultation paper considers it a "reasonable expectation" for any large-scale holding to prepare and publish a management plan. The consultation paper seeks views on the regularity with which these plans should be published, what information they should include, and whether this would benefit the local community. It is not clear from the consultation paper how plans or responsibilities surrounding the same will interact with parties who hold an interest in the land, for example agricultural tenants.

3. Regulating the market in...