A major shake-up of Scotland’s crofting laws has been unveiled today, promising to cut red tape, empower rural communities, and streamline land regulation.
The Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill proposes key reforms to make crofting regulation more accessible and less burdensome.
The Scottish government's bill also aims to give local farmers and their communities a stronger voice in how shared land is managed.
One of the central measures is the strengthening of grazing committees, which oversee the use of common land.
The Scottish government said this would ensure that decision-making was better aligned with the interests of crofters and the wider rural community.
The Bill also outlines plans to merge the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, creating a single body to be known as the Scottish Land Court.
Crucially, the new court will retain the statutory requirement for a Gaelic-speaking member, preserving cultural accessibility and representation.
Crofting plays a vital role in the fabric of communities throughout much of the Highlands, Islands and Argyll.
Across these regions, crofters are working the land, raising livestock, and contributing to the protection of the environment and local biodiversity.
Over the past decade, more than £31m has been committed through the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme, while since 2007, the Scottish government has approved £26m in Croft House Grant payments.
However, Jim Fairlie, Scotland's Agriculture Minister, noted that existing crofting legislation was "complex and difficult to navigate".
"This bill allows us to make a range of simplifications and improvements to the way crofting is administered, which will benefit crofters," he said.
“The merger of the Scottish Land Court and the Lands Tribunal for Scotland into the expanded Scottish Land Court will provide a more efficient administration of the services offered at present and result in greater simplicity, coherence and flexibility.”
The proposals have been shaped by engagement with the industry, with the majority of respondents to the 2024 Crofting Consultation expressing support for the reforms.
The decision to unify the courts follows a separate public consultation, fulfilling a pledge to introduce legislation within the current parliamentary term.
