Committee of Inquiry on Crofting
The Committee of Inquiry on Crofting has completed its remit and formally presented their recommendations for the future of crofting in Scotland to Mike Russell MSP, Minister for Environment at an invitation only event held on 12th May 2008 at An Lanntair Arts Centre, Kenneth Street, Stornoway.
Copies of the Final Report (in English and Gaelic) and an Assessment of the Economic Impact of the Committee's Proposals can be found on the Committee's website.
Scottish Government Response
The Scottish Government's vision for Crofting is set out in its response to the Committee's report, published on 1 October 2008 after careful consideration. The response is available on the publication section of this website in English and Gaelic.
Designating New Areas for Crofting
A public Consultation on the Scottish Government's proposal to designate new areas for crofting was launched on 19 December 2007. Also attached at the same destination are a list of the respondents and those responses that we have authorisation to publish.
Maps of the proposed new designated areas are available at Arran map and Nairn & Moray map
The Scottish Government responded to the public consultation on 6 October 2008 (see press release). The Government's response can be found at the following link Response and Analysis.
Crofting
A croft is a small unit of land situated in the former crofting counties (see below) in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, and held subject to the provisions of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993.
A crofter is normally the tenant of a croft, and pays rent to the landlord of the croft. Rent is paid for the land only, as any house, agricultural building, fence etc is provided by, and owned by the crofter. A crofter may own their croft - which remains in crofting tenure
Crofting tenure gives wide-ranging rights to crofting tenants, such as -
- security of tenure,
- fair rents,
- compensation for permanent improvements,
- to pass on their tenancies to members of their families or,
- to pass the tenancy to other third parties (with the approval of the Crofters Commission),
- to purchase either, their house site or, if they wish, their croft as a whole, at a fixed price.
Many mistake crofting for small-scale farming. This is clearly far too narrow a view and understates the immense influence crofting has on the everyday lives of people in communities in crofting areas. While agriculture has its place generally crofters either obtain the bulk of their income from other full-time or part-time employment or are retired.
Crofting Counties
The 1993 Act defines the Crofting Counties as: the former counties of Argyll, Caithness, Inverness, Orkney, Ross & Cromarty, Sutherland and Zetland. A map showing this, with comparison to the Highlands and Islands Entrprise area coverage is available at this link Crofting Counties map.
Information and statistics on crofting
Data on crofters and crofting is available through the attached link statistics.
Land Use
Land use in the crofting counties is constrained by climate, soils and topography. Agriculturally, virtually all of the land in the Highlands and Islands is classified as Severely Disadvantaged in terms of Less Favoured Area Directive. The existence of crofting has helped retain viable rural communities by providing low cost land and housing as a basis for other economic activity.