Change is afoot at the Scottish Land Commission (SLC). As we have been digesting, analysing and blogging on the Land Reform Bill, a Commissioner recruitment process has completed for the SLC.
By way of a recap, the SLC has five Land Commissioners and one Tenant Farming Commissioner (TFC). The Commissioners have a statutory remit to encourage fresh thinking and change in how Scotland owns and uses land, and to advise the Scottish Government on an ongoing programme of land reform. The Tenant Farming Commissioner's remit is, as you might expect, focused on the tenant farming sector and relations between landlords and tenants.
Each Commissioner is appointed by the Scottish Ministers – subject to the approval of the Scottish Parliament – and can remain in office for an initial term of up to 5 years. When proposing candidates, the Scottish Ministers must ensure that the SLC has a collective expertise and experience in a range of areas, including land reform, economics, land management, planning, community empowerment and environmental issues. The TFC must have expertise in agriculture.
Having been in office since 2017, the tenure of Scotland's first TFC (Dr Bob McIntosh) and two Land Commissioners (Lorne MacLeod and Dr Sally Reynolds) is coming to an end.
The recruitment process for the new Commissioners started in July 2024.
The Scottish Ministers proposed the appointment of Dr Lucy Beattie and Dr Calum MacLeod as Land Commissioners and Robert Black as the TFC.
The Net Zero, Energy and Transport (NZET) Committee of the Scottish Parliament invited the proposed candidates to take part in a public evidence session. Following the session, the NZET Committee recommended the approval of the candidates to Parliament.
Dr Beattie, Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, was recommended as having exceptional expertise in human rights, equal opportunities, stakeholder engagement and community empowerment.
Dr MacLeod, Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer at The Mental Health Foundation and freelance sustainable development consultant, was highlighted by the Committee as having exceptional expertise in land reform and the Gaelic language.
Mr Black, Development Manager at the Isle of Luing Community Trust and rural advisor, was commended for his commitment to the issues that the SLC champions.
On 28 November 2024, a key date in the rural calendar, it was announced that the Scottish Parliament had approved the appointment of the three candidates subject to completion of the public appointments process.
Mairi Gougeon MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, welcomed the appointments and thanked the exiting Commissioners for their work in developing the SLC from its creation and Dr McIntosh for his leadership and achievements as TFC.
These appointments come hot on the heels of another SLC related announcement.
A new Natural Capital Partnerships project has been launched – led by Community Land Scotland in partnership with the SLC – tasked with brokering partnerships among local communities, landowners and nature finance developers. This announcement comes alongside the publication of the Scottish Government's Natural Capital Framework which aims to support responsible, values-led investment in natural capital through the expansion of high-integrity voluntary carbon markers and the development of opportunities to invest in biodiversity.
We will be watching these initiatives closely and will be blogging further shortly.
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