Question reference: S6W-03525
- Asked by: Mercedes Villalba, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 6 October 2021
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Current status: Answered by Mairi McAllan on 20 October 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what legislation it plans to introduce to (a) tackle the concentration of land ownership in Scotland and (b) promote the use of land in the interests of (i) local communities and (ii) the natural environment; what the timescales are for any (A) such legislation and (B) other measures on these issues, and when any consultations are expected to be undertaken.
Answer
We have an ongoing and unwavering commitment to land reform, and to tackling the issues associated with the scale and concentration of land ownership. We will be introducing a new Land Reform Bill by the end of 2023, which will aim to ensure that the public interest is considered on transfers of particularly large scale land holdings. We also aim to introduce a pre-emption in favour of community buy-out where the public interest test applies, and where it is appropriate to do so.
In addition we are committed to doubling the funding available for communities to buy land and land assets through the Scottish Land Fund, to £20 million, by the end of this Parliament.
We will be undertaking a wide-ranging public consultation on proposals for the Bill in 2022, and we are committed to engaging with all stakeholders to develop policy and legislative solutions to progress our proposals.