Scottish Land Commission

Rob Mackay

Andrew Thin, Chair of the newly established Scottish Land Commission spoke at Aberdeen University on 26/05/17. His theme was 'Making More of Scottish Land'.

The Land Reform Act 2016 created the statutory framework for the establishment of the Scottish Land Commission and the purpose of this legislative move was described as:

• Rights and Responsibilities
  
• The empowerment of local communities
  
• Major changes to agricultural holdings

Andrew Thin stated that the overall thrust is about securing the public interest in land and that a fundamental mechanism has been the production of a draft statement of principles that is human rights based. This needs to be agreed with the Scottish Government.

Andrew Thin acknowledged that implementing these principles into practice will be challenging and suggested this will involve invoking two key actions:

• Driving cultural change about land use. He considered this will be achieved through effective leadership.
  
• Behavioural change about land use

The Scottish Land Commission was established on April 17th and it consists of 5 Land Commissioners and 1 Tenant Farm Commissioner. It is based in Inverness and has a small team of administrative staff.

Andrew Thin has described this year as being "an establishment year" as much work has to be done to create a new institution. As part of the process of engaging with communities and stakeholders there have been a number of Meet & Greet sessions across the country.

The date for the first conference is Thursday 28th September, Carnegie Conference Centre, Dunfermline. The theme is The Vision of Land Reform 2022 and beyond. The website address is landcommission.gov.scot

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