Farm leaders have submitted their views on the draft Land Reform Bill to the Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs committee.
In a 20-page submission, NFU Scotland has urged government to ensure the bill focuses on land management, rather than ownership.
In addition, the union has urged government to rename the bill the Land Reform and Agricultural Holdings Bill to ensure it takes into account recommendations put forward by the Agricultural Holdings Legislation Review Group.
President Allan Bowie said: “Given that land reform is likely to be an ongoing process, it is vital at this early stage in the debate that the emphasis is firmly focused on how land is utilised, rather than who holds ownership.
“Good and prudent land managers – whether they own or rent their land – must be supported by the provisions that emerge in this bill. That means an understanding of the practicalities and implications for land management and farming must be at the forefront of policy discussions and decisions.”
On agricultural holdings legislation, he said the union wanted a fresh look at waygo – the compensation a tenant receives at the end of their tenancy for any improvements made to the farm.
“Current arrangements around agreeing waygo can, in some cases, be a disincentive to existing tenants retiring and making way for the next generation,” said Mr Bowie.
“As a solution, NFU Scotland believes a ‘double notice’ provision be part of the bill. That would allow a tenant to serve notice of intention to quit the holding and instigate the formulation of a waygo offer by the landlord. If agreement on waygo is reached, a second notice would be issued helping the existing tenant move on and, ideally, a new entrant take their place.”
Meanwhile, the professional body representing farm advisers and land agents – SAAVA – has sounded a warning over the draft bill’s proposals for rent calculations.
SAAVA says plans to exclude the primary residential accommodation from the farm rental calculation could cause problems for new tenants.
President of the association, James Dick, said: “In our view, there is a concern that the bill will provide fewer opportunities for new entrants to take on a farm with a house, or with the house only being available to the tenant if he takes it on a residential let separately from the rest of the unit.
“It will increase costs for these new entrants, in what is already a difficult time for those starting up. While repair and maintenance obligations for houses are normally higher in agricultural tenancies than in residential tenancies, the cost of carrying out such work would usually not be enough to bring it to the level of a residential rent.”
In its submission to the Holyrood committee, the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association (STFA) said it was in support of the bulk of the proposals in the bill but warned there were a number of gaps that needed addressed.
These included measures to encourage retirement by ensuring a fairer end of tenancy compensation and the creation of assignation opportunities to allow new entrants and others climbing up the farming ladder to access tenancies.
STFA chairman Christopher Nicholson said: “The bill recognises the value of secure tenure and the need to maintain secure tenancies as a reliable and long term model of land tenure. STFA would like to see access to secure tenure widened and believes that the initial proposal to open access to secure tenancies to non-family through assignation should be reconsidered at stage two.”