The Scottish Government consulted on a draft Crofting Reform Bill between May 19, 2009 and August 12, 2009. The draft Bill contained five parts:
- Changes to the governance arrangements for crofting
- Arrangements for a new Register of Crofts
- Better enforcement of the requirement for crofters and owner-occupiers to reside on or near the croft and to work the land
- Powers to enable crofters to grant standard securities over their crofts
- An occupancy requirement on housing built on land taken out of crofting tenure in order to tackle speculation on croft land
Responses to the consultation were received through written correspondence and comments made during 19 public meetings held across the Crofting Counties and the new areas to crofting.
In total, 422 written responses to the consultation were recieved from organisations and individuals. Of the 422 responses, 238 respondents agreed to the publication of their responses.
An analysis of both the written responses and feedback from public meetings has been undertaken and this can be seen in the attached report.
The Scottish Government would like to thank all those who attended the public meetings and submitted a consultation response. The Government appreciates the important role that civic participation has played in shaping these legislative proposals prior to introducing the Bill to Parliament.
What happens next?
The Minister for Environment has carefully considered responses to the draft Bill. Work is ongoing to consider how the provisions should be amended in view of the consultation responses for inclusion in a Crofting Bill. Already, as a result of feedback, the Minister for Environment has agreed that the occupancy requirement should be dropped, and consideration is being given to alternative solutions for addressing speculation on croft land.
In September 2009, the First Minister announced a legislative programme for the forthcoming year and this included a Crofting Bill.