MSPs attack 'bureaucratic' and costly crofting reform bill

The first stage of the parliamentary process scrutinising the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Bill showed the planned legislation still faces stiff opposition.

Roseanna Cunningham, the environment secretary, said the bill will clamp down on the near 2,000 absentee crofters and an unknown number of cases of neglected land.

She said: "Each empty, neglected croft represents a missed opportunity for someone to make a significant contribution to that community."

She said the bill will also create a clear and unambiguous map-based crofting register that will show land held in crofting tenure and provide greater security for all those with an interest in the land.

Holyrood's rural affairs committee last week backed the general principles of the bill, but said some issues require further consideration.

Liberal Democrat MSP John Farquhar Munro branded the 1 million cost of the bill a "waste of money."

He said: "I don't think we need a bill to reform crofting, we don't need new legislation which will only complicate the lives of hard-working crofters."

A map-based register of crofts would be "impossible" to reach agreement on among many crofters, he said.

Mr Munro added: "I see nothing in the bill that is acceptable to crofters and nothing in it that would ensure the future of crofting – in fact the very reverse.

"The attempt to get this bill approved from day one has cost in excess of 1m already and that to me seems to be a total of waste of time and money."

He said a democratically-elected Crofters Commission with a mandate to enforce the existing regulations would provide a "simple solution".