Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson SNP MSP Skye, Lochaber, and Badenoch welcomes the recent democratic decision of the Crofting Commission to allow for discretion in the “duty to report” provision in the 2010 Crofting Act. This decision comes after the Crofting Assessor Seminar held in Inverness last week.

Commenting on the results Dave said: “As a democratically elected organisation, the Crofting Commission represents the interests of those who have elected them and I believe they met this obligation during the Crofting Assessor Seminar.

“Allowing discretion for clerks’ in their “duty to report” echoes the commitment of Environment Minister Paul Wheelhouse, who stated that the commission would work to make the “duty to report” requirement user-friendly for grazing committees. This again emphasises the importance of maintaining the integrity of the crofting community, while moving to tackle misuse of crofting lands.

The Crofting Assessor Seminar was the first annual Assessor Seminar for the newly elected Crofting Commission and the first meeting of the newly appointed Assessor Panel. The seminar provided an opportunity for crofters, Commissioners, staff from the Crofting Commission and many others to meet and discuss relevant issues.

Earlier this month Paul Wheelhouse, Minister for Environment and Climate Change, responded to a parliamentary question from Mr Thompson on the crofter’s obligation to report saying:

“The commission hopes to develop a user-friendly duty report form for grazings committees to complete, which will highlight issues that the commission might consider addressing. Guidance will be provided in due course, once that process is completed.

Notes:

The following is the parliamentary question asked by Mr Thompson and answered by Mr Wheelhouse:

Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP):
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it has made on implementing the provisions of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. (S4O-01434)

The Minister for Environment and Climate Change (Paul Wheelhouse): Excellent progress has been made towards implementing the 2010 act. The Crofting Commission has been established with a firm focus on becoming an effective regulator. It has become more democratic and, as the member is no doubt aware, I recently appointed Susan Walker as its convener. In addition, secondary legislation is almost complete, and instruments that relate to the implementation of the crofting register were recently laid before the Scottish Parliament.

Dave Thompson: The not unreasonable requirement for reports on how crofts are being used has caused some concern among crofters, who are not sure exactly what is required. What guidance has been or will be provided to grazings clerks and common grazings committees on the production of such reports on crofting activities in their areas?

Paul Wheelhouse: The commission is discussing and consulting on how best to ensure that the obligation is met by all concerned. That will feature at the crofting assessors conference in Inverness on 21 and 22 November, which is one vehicle for ensuring that people are aware of the requirements.

The commission hopes to develop a user-friendly duty report form for grazings committees to complete, which will highlight issues that the commission might consider addressing. Guidance will be provided in due course, once that process is completed.