Chamber and committees

Compulsory purchase powers are contained in general Acts of Parliament. They are available to government departments, most government agencies, local authorities, bodies with statutory obligations, bodies subject to a regulator and other bodies who have obtained compulsory purchase powers by way of a Provisional Order.There is no central register providing information on the number, type, cost or use of compulsory purchase orders. Research aimed at establishing how the compulsory purchase system operates in Scotland and identifying ways of improving its operations, has recently been published by the Scottish Executive. A copy of the research entitled, Review of Compulsory Purchase and Land Compensation is available on the Scottish Executive website at www.scotland.gov.uk.

In developing the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill for introduction to Parliament, the Executive will continue to consider all likely costs relating to access, the community right to buy and the crofting community right to buy.The Executive is required to publish a Financial Memorandum to accompany each Bill on its introduction to Parliament, which provides details of budgetary estimates following implementation. Estimated costs relating to the Land Reform Bill will be provided at that time for, inter alia, the set-up and maintenance of core path networks, and the costs of the community and crofting community rights to buy, including compensation. In relation to both rights to buy, costs will largely be dependent on the level of uptake.

The operation of the New Opportunities Fund's Scottish Land Fund is a reserved matter for the Department of Culture Media and Sport. Can I invite the member to write to Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive of the New Opportunities Fund.

This is a matter for Scottish Natural Heritage. The information requested is not held centrally.

The draft Land Reform (Scotland) Bill places no limit on the number of land registrations which can be made by community bodies.The New Opportunities Fund's Scottish Land Fund is one possible source of funding for community land purchases. Any future allocations beyond the Land Fund's current £10 million budget can be considered in the light of experience of its operation.

Good progress is being made. The issues raised are being considered, prior to decisions on what changes should be made to the draft Bill, which will be introduced to Parliament later this year.

Scottish Borders Council has appointed consultant Turner & Townsend to lead the project towards its next major stage. This is to seek parliamentary approval for the promotion, construction and reopening of the line to the central Scottish Borders.

3,534 crofts are owned by crofters, representing 20% of all crofts.A total of 45 crofters have purchased their crofts directly from Scottish ministers since the enactment of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. The land so acquired represented some 3% of the croft land in the ownership of Scottish ministers.

The following number of cases were marked "no proceedings" due to Procurator Fiscal staff shortages:1998-99Elgin 3Kirkcaldy 88Paisley 61999-2000Elgin 1Kilmarnock 22000-01Peebles 1No other cases were marked "no proceedings" on grounds relating to the resources of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The Scottish Executive remains committed to introducing the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament at the earliest opportunity. Over 3,500 responses were received during the extended consultation period for the draft Bill and Draft Scottish Outdoor Access Code. Copies are available at the Parliament's Reference Centre and at the Executive's library at Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh.The First Minister will be making a statement to Parliament on the Legislative Programme for the forthcoming year.