Chamber and committees

As no member wishes to make a contribution, I will move straight on and ask whether the committee agrees to motion S6M-15261, in the name of Kate Forbes.

Motion agreed to.

The committee will report on the outcome of the instrument in due course. I invite committee members to delegate authority to me, as convener, to approve the draft report for publication. Are you all happy?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, First Minister, and thank you to your officials for attending for a somewhat longer—[Interruption.] Did I say First Minister?

Agenda item 6 is consideration of the recommended candidates for appointment to the board of the Scottish Land Commission, including the tenant farming commissioner.

Last week, the committee agreed to hold a formal evidence session with the prospective candidates. Parliament has been given a role in approving Land Commission appointments, which in practice means that the committee will make a recommendation to Parliament. We have agreed to have this session to assist us in making an informed recommendation, taking into account the recommendations set out in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.

I am pleased to welcome Dr Lucy Beattie and Dr Calum MacLeod, who have been nominated as land commissioners, and Robert Black, who has been nominated as tenant farming commissioner. I am grateful to you all for coming along today, and I commend you for putting yourselves forward for these important roles. We have before us information about you and your relevant skills and experience.

We will be going into questions, but first of all, as I will be asking about agriculture—which will not surprise you, Robert—I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests as a member of a family farming partnership in Moray. I have an old-style tenancy for a small bit of land as well as a non-agricultural tenancy for another bit of land, and I was also a surveyor for 12 years, doing agricultural land letting. I hope that that is a full enough declaration.

I also say at the outset that I was hugely impressed with the way in which Bob McIntosh took on the role of tenant farming commissioner and what he did in that role. I am glad to put that on the record, because I think that he made a huge step forward in a difficult area and his careful and considered judgment has made it easier for all sides to work together. That probably suggests the importance of the roles that we are addressing here.

My first question is for Robert Black. Can you explain what agricultural experience you would bring to the role of tenant farming commissioner?

I am sorry, but I am looking at the deputy convener, and I am not going to answer that comment. I have made my point.

Deputy convener, do you have anything more to ask?

You just did. [Laughter.]

Yes, please.

I hear what you are saying, but surely the legislation is written such that the land commissioner sits within the commission, but he or she has special skills. The commissioner is still in the Land Commission; it is just that his powers are not shared out with all the Land Commission, in the same way that the tenant farming commissioner is a member of the Land Commission but his work on tenant farming is his within the commission. I am not sure that I understand what you are saying.

I am keen to ask a question on thresholds before you move on.

I look forward to seeing them and I look forward to seeing whether the Scottish Government agrees with you on the costs, because I am sure that those will have driven some of its proposals in the bill.

Thank you very much. That was quite a long evidence session, but it was extremely worth while.