Chamber and committees

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Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-40898

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 14 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of (a) the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, (b) the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016, (c) the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and (d) concentrated land ownership on (i) local economic development, (ii) local sustainable development, (iii) community wealth building, (iv) community ownership and (v) an inclusive economy.

The Scottish Government is proud of the positive impacts of these three pieces of legislation.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 introduced the community right to buy and the crofting right to buy. There have been over 275 applications under the various rights (including those introduced in 2015 and 2018). It also created a legal framework for the right to responsible access for land.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 built upon this success by establishing the Scottish Land Commission, ensuring we now have a permanent public body providing independent research and analysis and supporting Land Reform objectives. It also put the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement on a statutory footing, supported transparency of land ownership through the creation of the Register of Persons Holding a Controlled Interest in Land and promoted community engagement.

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 created new rights for community bodies and placed new duties on public authorities contributing to significant progress in supporting the empowerment of communities across Scotland. The Act has also encouraged greater numbers of public service providers to engage with their communities on a range of matters to help improve local service delivery. In relation to Asset Transfer in the Act, it is the first of its kind in the UK and around 500 asset transfer requests have been made since 2017. Community organisations have taken ownership or lease of forests, parks, woodlands, sports and recreational facilities and community hubs.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a variety of work related to this legislation. The Scottish Government regularly commissions research including ongoing work through the Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture (ENRA) Strategic Research Programme:

The Scottish Government has commissioned research on the impact of diversity of land ownership:

Each of the three pieces of legislation in the question cover numerous different policy issues. Different parts have been reviewed through different work programmes over time, across various research projects, reports, and evidence reviews, in particular:

(a) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 contains four policy parts, introducing legal powers aimed at improving public access and enabling community land ownership.

As part of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, specifically part 1, there was a review of the whole Act by the Land Reform Review Group published in 2014 - The land of Scotland and the common good: report - gov.scot.

In 2012 - Overview of Evidence on Land Reform in Scotland - gov.scot provided an overview of the evidence available on the implementation and progress of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003.

The Scottish Government is also currently undertaking a review of Community Right to Buy due to complete by the end of 2025.

(b) The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 Act has 11 policy parts. On 31 March 2025, the Scottish Government published the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015: update and findings report which provides in-depth reviews of Part 3: Participation Requests and Part 5: Asset Transfer, an assessment of the implementation of Part 2: Community Planning and an update on all the other parts of the Act.

(c) The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016 contains 12 policy parts, introducing different legal powers and responsibilities.

The Scottish Land Commission provides evidence-based advice to inform land policy in Scotland. They provide independent oversight and strategic advice on matters relating to land in Scotland, and the Land Commissioners’ functions includes reviewing the impact and effectiveness of laws and policies and recommending changes. More information about their work can be found on their website.

(d) In reference to concentrated land ownership, please see my response S6W-40547.

Question reference: S6W-40896

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 01 October 2025
Current Status: Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 9 October 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the sale of charitable assets by the Clan Donald Lands Trust under section 33 of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, and what its response is to the findings of the investigation by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) into the sale, which concluded that the trustees made decisions within the powers set out in the charity’s governing document and had acted in accordance with their legal duties as charity trustees, with no further action by OSCR being required.

The Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) was established 20 years ago as an independent regulator and registrar of charities, ensuring that charity regulation remains free from political influence.

Decisions and inquiries undertaken by OSCR, such as those relating to the Clan Donald Lands Trust and the sale of its landholdings, fall entirely within its remit and are not matters for the Scottish Government.

Given the independence of both OSCR and the charities it regulates, it would be inappropriate for Scottish Ministers to comment on individual cases.

Question reference: S6W-41089

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to (a) improve sustainable development and (b) increase levels of rural (i) employment, (ii) housing provision, and (iii) repopulation.

Question reference: S6W-41083

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the diversification of land ownership.

Question reference: S6W-41086

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to increase community (a) ownership of (i) land and (ii) energy, and (b) wealth building.

Question reference: S6W-41087

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to improve (a) community engagement and (b) local democracy regarding land ownership decisions.

Question reference: S6W-41082

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to the inclusion of a (a) public interest test assessment of potential buyers, (b) fit and proper person test of potential buyers, and (c) presumed limit against large-scale land ownership unless in the public interest, in the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill.

Question reference: S6W-41090

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to (a) increase the number of new (i) crofts, (ii) land tenancies and (iii) agriculture tenancies and (b) improve food (i) security and (ii) system resilience.

Question reference: S6W-41085

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to support (a) environmental, (b) biodiversity and (c) natural processes (i) protection and (ii) restoration.

Question reference: S6W-41088

Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 October 2025
Current Status: Answer expected on 4 November 2025

To ask the Scottish Government, with regard to the concentration of land ownership, what action it is taking to support a just transition to a net zero (a) energy system and (b) economy.