The work of the Land Reform Policy Group under my chairmanship has been an essential preparatory stage: it has systematically analysed the problems which land reform needs to tackle; and then sifted through a wide range of options for action to identify the best solutions to these problems. What has clearly emerged from that process is that land reform has many dimensions. It is not reducible to a few simple prescriptions. This is why the recommendations in this document are wide-ranging.

My role as Chair has been to ensure that the Group's work constantly strikes the right balance between vision and deliverability: on the one hand never losing sight of our essential purpose which is to best utilise the land resource so as to enhance the lifechances of people living and working in rural areas, and on the other asking hard questions about what are the most practicable and cost-effective ways of achieving this. I am confident that the recommendations set out in this document meet both criteria. Together they provide a statement of Government policy and intent for future land reform in rural Scotland.

The next stage is to turn these recommendations into action.

The initial focus must be the Scottish Parliament which comes into being next Summer, and the opportunity that this will provide for an integrated programme of law-making on land issues.

But it is crucial that we regard land reform not as a once-for-all issue but as an ongoing process. The Parliament will be able to test how this early legislation works and how it effects change. They will then have the opportunity to revisit and refine their initial achievement. And in addition there is a range of recommendations for further work, which will generate a longer-term agenda for further legislation.

These present recommendations are therefore by no means the final word on land reform; they are a platform upon which we can build for the future.