Chamber and committees

Regarding the transfer test applying to large landholdings, the bill refers to holdings that are over 1,000 hectares. Do you see an argument for reducing that? If so, why?

So you see that coming through guidance and not in a big list in the bill.

Where do you see smallholders sitting? Should they be brought under the legislative framework for crofting, or does the existing provision for agricultural tenants meet the needs of smallholders?

I think that the Scottish Crofting Federation and the Landworkers Alliance take a different view. They would rather see smallholders sitting within the crofting legislation. Why do you take a different view? What are the reasons for that?

What would be the advantages and disadvantages of going one way or the other? Is there no difference?

Okay. How would you distinguish them? With crofting, there are common grazings. Collective land is managed. Smallholdings are individual holdings. Is that the big difference?

Okay. I am sure that more evidence will come on that. I will leave things there for now.

Your point about land management plans is that regardless of the size of the holding, the plans need to be transparent and proportionate. Is that correct?

The bill contains only a transfer test, but we could also introduce a public interest test, in theory.

There are huge opportunities, with or without the bill, for investment in nature and carbon markets, but do you see the bill as an opportunity to regulate those markets? At the moment, they are largely unregulated and it can feel to some communities a bit like the wild west.