Chamber and committees

We will turn to the deputy convener, and then to Rhoda Grant, who has been waiting patiently to ask her penultimate questions.

Yes, of course.

I reconvene the meeting and move straight on with the remainder of our questions. Douglas Lumsden has asked all his questions, so we will move on to the next set, which come from Jackie Dunbar.

I think that we have come to the end of the questions, but I have a last, very simple one. Whenever I come up with a wish list of all the things that I would like to do, what tempers it at the end is the thought of how much it would cost.

Josh, I have waved a magic wand and everything that you want in the bill goes into the bill. What will it cost the Scottish Government?

With respect, I should say that, if you are going to buy a croft, its value will be determined under the crofting legislation. What we are talking about here is interfering with the free market. I understand that that might be your way of interpreting it, but do you accept that there could be quite a substantial cost to the Government in doing what you are suggesting?

We could discuss at length the Scottish outdoor access code, which, given that it has been in force for 20 years without ever having been reviewed or reconsidered, is a subject that is close to my heart. However, we will not do so. Instead, we will move on to Mark Ruskell’s next question.

We will go to Douglas Lumsden for questions next, but I notice that our timings are going to be under pressure, so I must ask everyone to give succinct answers, where possible.

Okay, I think that we are coming at this from different angles. I will bring in the deputy convener.

Before we leave this, can you verify where you got that figure for landholdings from?

I think that my maths is probably going to let me down here, but 2.471 times 500 hectares gives us roughly 1,600 acres. Are you confident that that will take in every single farmer in Scotland who farms 1,600 acres or more?