Land Reform in Scotland

1. Land Reform in Scotland Inspiration and Lessons to be Learned

2. Towards the Commons? Land Reform Review Group- reporting in 2014 The philosophy of this group helped to establish a different approach to land. They saw land as a crucial and finite resource that required owning and using in the public interest and for the common good. So instead of focusing on land ownership and rights as market matters and private rights, more emphasis is on where the public interest lies (Peter Peacock).

3. ‘radical and ongoing reform to democratise land and ensure that it is owned and used in the public interest and for the common good’. Successful amendment proposed by Land reform campaigner, now Green MSP- Andy Wightman

4. BACKGROUND TO Land reform • Very unequal land distribution- one of the worst in Europe (50% or private rural land- 432 owners) • History and culture: sheep and clearances and rise of sporting estates (economic and social injustice) • Land reform movement: campaigners such as Andy Wightman, initiatives for community buy-outs, eg Eigg and Knoydart Foundation • Success of SNP and the nationalist ideology- linked to the fact that many of the large landowners have been English

5. Legislation • Land Fund (2000)- money from the government to help communities buy land from owners (was £5 million) • Land Reform Act 2003 • Access- access anywhere without owners consent • Community Right to Buy if the land came up for sale- first right of refusal. Only communities up to 10,000 (rural communities in north and west of Scotland) • Crofting-right to buy even if the landowner is not willing

6. Community Empowerment Act 2015 • Extension of right to buy to communities of any size, including urban areas • Right to buy for land that is neglected, abandoned or in some way harms the community • Communities can ask local authorities, government and other public bodies for land or properties that they think they can make better use of • Local authorities must draw up data bank on all common good property they hold • Local authorities must provide more allotments and develop a food growing strategy

7. Land Reform Act 2016 • Land Rights and Responsibilities statement must be produced: underpinned by principles of human rights, equal opportunities, reducing socio-economic advantage, diversity of land ownership and sustainability in relation to land. • From the statement: “underlines the Government’s commitment to on-going and long-term land reform”, “help ensure that the land can support our ambitions for a fairer country where more people and communities can benefit from the land”, commits to there being a more “diverse pattern of land ownership”.

8. Land Commission to provide overview of policy and keep momentum going. One important report from this commission is Land: for the many, not the few? by Peter Peacock. It is thought that this is a key reform as it is an institutional driver which will oversee policy and initiate further developments. • A new Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Roseanna Cunningham who has a good record on climate change.

9. A Register of Controlling Interests in Land One part of the 2016 Act is designed to boost transparency. Together with a drive to complete the map-based Land Register of Scotland by 2024, new rules relating to the disclosure of who has a controlling interest of a piece of land will make it easier to implement other parts of the act, eg community right to buy, community engagement.

10. Expansion of Community Right to BUy • easier to use • introduces a clause whereby the community can purchase land even if there is no willing seller if the land can be used more sustainably or in the public interest

11. More reasons for communities to buy • the transfer of land is likely to further the achievement of sustainable development in relation to the land • the transfer of land is in the public interest; • the transfer of land is likely to result in significant benefit to the relevant community and is the only practicable way of achieving that significant benefit • not granting consent to the transfer is likely to result in “significant harm” to the community.

12. Guidance to landowners on community engagement The idea is that landowners need to consult with and involve local communities in discussions about land use. The problem is that there are no actual sanctions in the law. • Removal of exemptions from non-domestic rates for shooting and deer forests This is an important tax change that could see changes in land use. Land owners are of course very against this.

13. Agriculture Scotland is very different from other parts of the UK: owners, agricultural tenants and crofters. Just under a 25% of agricultural land was rented out for a year or more. • Right given to agricultural tenant to sell back tenancy to land owner or to sell to a new entrant to This is considered to be very ‘complex’ and is also controversial. The general idea is to make it more difficult for landowners to get rid of leases on their land. So the lease can be sold back or passed to a new entrant into farming.

14. What next? Issues • Concern about how easy it will be to use some of the new criteria for community buy-out, eg sustainable development, what will cause harm etc. • Amount in the land fund was doubled to 10 million but still not that much given the price of land • No one has yet applied to buy abandoned or neglected land • Nothing about limiting the size of land holdings • No limits on non-EU foreign ownership • No agricultural tenants’ right to buy

15. Focus on northern Scotland. Plans to have a South of Scotland Enterprise but this needs to have a Community Land Unit like in the Highlands and Islands. • Position of SNP and other parties. There is a lot of opposition to land reform so it will be difficult for the SNP to pursue more radical land reform if they lack the political will to take on the landowners. • Landowners are questioning whether concentration of ownership and private ownership is in fact a bad thing. Private property as a human right.

16. Green Party • Free-to-use national land information system • an end to off-shore land ownership tax havens • a right for secure agricultural tenants to buy their farms (in certain circumstances) • giving children equal rights to inherit land • allowing local authorities to obtain land for higher quality housing at existing use values • ensuring that all vacant and derelict land is subject to non-domestic rates • replacing non-domestic rates with a land value tax

17. What place the Environment? • Sustainable development is a frequently mentioned as a reason for a community to buy land. Problem is how to define this. • The recent planning bill has seen amendments defeated on protecting wild land. • Local communities often see the work of conservationists as in conflict with their own interests.

18. Impacts: Community Right to Buy • Not a great increase in communities making bids, however, there are signs of interest in many different types of areas, eg community buy- out of Cairngorm kki resort, buying a empty railway station to turn it into a hostel. • No case study yet to use the provisions of the legislation eg, harm to the community • 112,158 acres to 562,230 acres from 1990 to 2017 (3% of total land) • Aim is to have 1 million acres by 2020.

19. Change in attitudes, confidence • Galvinisea more radical land reform movement with higher expectations. • Much support for view thatunequal land ownership is against human rights and holds back economic, social and cultural development • More accepted that land use should relate to the common good and that there should be a national land use strategy

20. Integrated Strategy There is a potential to use other legislation to reinforce land reform policy. For example, work on human rights in Scotland links directly to land reform. The current planning bill is also another area that needs to be used to reinforce enable land reform.

21. Scottish Land Commission “The Scottish Land Commission is working to create a Scotland where everybody benefits from the ownership, management and use of the nation’s land and buildings.” This Commission is already taking the lead in research. For example, they have produced a paper on challenging land ownership and are also now looking at the possible use of a land value tax.

22. Land Value Tax • Land is the most valuable asset in the UK: £5 trillion, or just over half of the total net worth of the UK • How do we ensure that the gains from rising land value benefit society as a whole? • Research carried out by University of Reading for Land Commission

23. What is it? Why Tax land? • Annual charge based on the value of a given parcel of land • Based on the unimproved value of land, ignoring any property or infrastructure that might be on it • The value of land is derived from its scarcity and its location • These locational advantages are generally created by society • Taxation would benefit the public and not the landowner

24. Benefits • More productive use of land since the value of the tax will be the same, based on its optimal value, even if the land is not used for anything • Efficient: land is in fixed supply so taxation should not affect supply (eg income tax affects supply of work) • Hard to evade • May help to stabilise the price of land as there is no incentive to hold on to land for speculative purposes. So this would make it easier for people to gain access to land

25. Possible uses of a land value Tax • Reduce the amount of vacant and derelict land in by introducing a penalty for keeping land idle and creating an incentive for it to be brought back into productive use. This would only work if the land was being left idle for speculative purposes. • Change land ownership patterns: not clear. May help by making land less valuable so not a source of speculation thereby lowering prices and making land more accessible.

26. Capturing increases in Land Value • Ensure that society benefits from increases in land values that have nothing to do with landowner Land prices increase because of improvements to area, eg Cross Rail, tax is paid- helps fund crossrail • Often relates to house prices- return some of the profit made to society for infrastructureto help with schools etc • Anticipation of planning permission- planning permission for housing will increase land values and therefore cost of housing

27. Practical problems • Research found that the theoretical benefits were not delivered in practice. • Land Value Tax is not widely understood so public acceptance will be an obstacle. • Need full knowledge of who owns what, how the land is used and what the price of the land is. This is not available. • The planning system would need to be able to specify a permitted land use for every parcel of land and confirm any development rights in order to value the land.

28. Technical issues around valuation: need for regular revaluations, what method to use, how to determine the optimal use for any given parcel of land • Interaction with other property taxes: ensure that the cumulative effect of the new tax would not negatively affect development viability and other public policy goals

29. Towards land reform in the rest of the uk • What can we take from the Scottish experience? • What is different about England? Eg only 12% of land is upland-so more productive agricultural land and more urban areas. • Think about first steps. We agree we want land reform, how should we start? What should a first Land Reform Act contain?

30. Resources • http://www.calummacleod.info (current head of Community Land Scotland) • www.communitylandscotland.org.uk • https://landcommission.gov.scot/ • https://landcommission.gov.scot/2018/12/report-examines-merits-of-land-value-tax-in-scotland/ • http://www.andywightman.com/ • /www.johnmuirtrust.org