Chamber and committees

I will pick up on the same point. I am interested in the Government’s attitude towards any potential amendments around the issue of criminal penalties. You have said that the penalty should apply to both the racetrack operator and the dog owner. The bill also proposes imprisonment, potentially for up to five years, which is the kind of sentence that somebody would serve for an assault on a person leading to a serious injury. Will the Government give consideration to what the penalty should be?

In that case, would it be fair to describe this as a situation that has possibly resolved itself, notwithstanding the fact that there may need to be legislation for the future? If it is a problem—which many people out there would consider it to be—has it essentially come to an end?

Is there currently any activity that would be banned as a result of the bill, or is the problem essentially in the past tense?

I realise that there is a limit to what you can comment on, but I will pick up on some of those themes. On the administrative impact, Lord Duthie, the chairman of the Land Court, has commented on the system for appeals under the new arrangements. For example, he has mentioned that the bill

“would have the result that other than in cases where the presiding legal member is the chair, decisions in land registration, title conditions, electronic communications code and disputed compensation cases would all be subject to internal appeal. This is a significant innovation on the status quo.”

How would that work, how would that impact on the workload of the court, and how would that be managed?

So, the focus in the future would probably be on preventing commercial activity from starting, since it would appear that this type of non-commercial activity is pretty much at an end.

Okay. Thank you.

I am interested in Thornton specifically. Am I right in thinking that Thornton is not currently operating?

Could that arguably be said to create a simpler situation in that it would appear that we are now dealing with preventing something from happening in the future rather than stopping something that is currently under way?

I appreciate your description, but I would add, just for the record, that it is possible for people to learn languages, including Gaelic.

Since it was reconvened, this Parliament has delivered radical and ambitious land reform, providing a challenge to the highly concentrated pattern of land ownership across huge areas of Scotland that a number of members have mentioned.

The final version of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill that we have in front of us this evening is the product of, among many other things, a parliamentary marathon of amendments over the past week or two. I know that there are people in the gallery—at least one of them is a constituent of mine—who have loyally followed the bill’s progress evening after evening and long into the night. That indicates the desire to see the bill passed. In fact, many people have been in touch with me urging the Parliament to pass the bill. That is because the bill represents a vital step forward in allowing communities across Scotland to have a greater say over what happens to the land on which they live.

The land is an important part of who we are, and I am proud of our long-standing commitment to delivering meaningful land reform and diversifying land ownership in the public interest. However, as others have rightly pointed out, the concentration of land ownership can be seen to have worsened in recent years, with 421 landowners owning 50 per cent of private rural land. That number is down from 440 in 2012. That is despite significant progress in the number of communities that have been supported through the Scottish land fund in achieving their buyouts, in both rural and urban areas, since then. We should be proud of that progress. That said, we must do more to achieve our land reform objectives. We must close loopholes and make it easier for communities to successfully acquire land for the common good.

During our deliberations in Parliament, some members have argued that the bill does not go far enough, while Mr Mountain has, with a very thorough efficiency, sought to oppose every part of the bill for going too far. I consider the bill to be a helpful and pragmatic measure, although I am sure that we will return to the topic in future.

Among many other measures, the bill will introduce lotting provisions, which will allow communities to buy smaller portions of land on an estate’s sale. Prior notifications of land sales for communities will also be implemented through the legislation. That is important because it will prevent situations in which communities have land sold from underneath them without even being told about it. The requirement for land management plans will require greater transparency and engagement and proactive use of land assets in line with national objectives.

As of 2023, 72 per cent of community-owned land in Scotland was located in the Western Isles. In my constituency, more than 75 per cent of people live on land that is community owned. That fact is not unconnected to the role that the islands have played in the long fight across Scotland for land rights. The crofters war of the late 19th century, in response to the Highland clearances, secured the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886, while later land raids led to the Land Settlement (Scotland) Act 1919.

Looking forward, it is important to use the legislative levers that are available to us to deal with the problems of the future. I am thinking of the need to prevent asset management companies—the names Gresham House and Oxygen Conservation spring unbidden to mind—from any aggressive acquisition of huge swathes of our hillsides. The on-going challenge for us all will be to ensure that local communities remain able to make productive and positive use of the land around them for the benefit of everyone living in their area. The bill will enable exactly that.

The bill represents an important step forward in Scotland’s progress on land reform and will empower communities to give themselves a future. I urge members to vote to pass the bill at decision time this evening.