Dave Thompson MSP

Dave Thompson, SNP MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, spoke in the Scottish Parliament’s debate on the amendment of the 2010 Crofting Act. As well as voicing his support for the amended legislation to be in place as soon as possible, Dave highlighted the recent study which found that an abattoir for Skye and Lochalsh had the potential to return a modest profit, provided capital costs were met.

Commenting on this, Dave said: “After welcoming the study commissioned by the Scottish Crofting Federation which showed that an abattoir could be a real asset for the people of Skye and Lochalsh, and a profitable one, I wanted to bring the issue to the Minister’s attention as soon as possible.

“The abattoir would have a maximum capacity for 4,000 sheep, 200 cattle and 130 pigs a year, with projected initial throughput of 800 sheep, 100 cattle and 130 pigs, and the big challenge will be to secure the funding to cover the capital costs. I intend to do all that I can to support that proposal, and I hope that the minister will look at it favourably.

“The main priority for crofting reform just now is ensuring that we pass the amendment to address the problems owner-occupiers are having regarding decrofting, but I do believe that in the medium term we need to take a long hard look at crofting legislation and make a start on consolidation.

Note:

Below is Dave’s speech from the debate

Dave Thompson (Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch) (SNP): I welcome the progress that has been made with this essential amendment of the 2010 act, and I am glad that we are already at stage 1. Although we must ensure that no mistakes are made, the sooner we complete the legislative process, the sooner our owner-occupiers will be able to go on with their plans for new homes and suchlike.

My constituency is home to about 3,000 of Scotland’s crofts, predominantly on the west coast, Skye and the small isles, but also in the farmland around Dingwall, the Black Isle and Badenoch. On Skye, crofters account for around 65 per cent of households, so crofting is clearly an exceedingly important issue for my constituency and me.

Since the decision to halt applications for decrofting was taken in February—the only possible decision, in view of the legal consequences—I have been contacted by constituents who are concerned about the halt and its impact on their plans to build new homes and to secure mortgages. That shows why it is so important that amendment of the 2010 act, in the form of the bill, will comprehensively fix the legal difficulty and put the solution in place as quickly as possible so that all those who have been affected can resume their applications as soon as possible.

After the minister’s recent statement on the plans for legislation, I asked what plans had been considered to allow the Crofting Commission to deal with the backlog that has built up since February. I was reassured by the minister’s answer that the Crofting Commission has been asked in the meantime to process pending applications as far as possible, so that once we have robust legislation in place they can be concluded quickly in order to minimise the disruption that is being caused to crofters.

My constituents have expressed concern that information has not been forthcoming on how quickly the backlog will be tackled. I therefore hope—and expect—that the Crofting Commission will put its back into dealing with the backlog in order to clear it as quickly as possible. I am sure that that will be done.

The Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee stated in its stage 1 report that it is important to ensure that the legislation will apply retrospectively. Obviously, that must be the case. The Scottish Crofting Federation, in an article in its in-house magazine The Crofter, described the Scottish Government’s plans to introduce the bill as

“the correct (and only) way forward.

I am pleased that we are already at stage 1. Given the disruption that the current situation is causing crofters, our priorities for the legislation must be to ensure that it is, in order to avoid the need for amendment again in the near future, of high quality and in place as soon as possible.

In evidence to the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee were a number of suggestions that wider reform of crofting legislation would be desirable. I agree with those calls and look forward to the Government’s response, because there is no doubt that crofting legislation could do with consolidation. We have had the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955, the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1961, the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968, the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 1976, which gave crofters the right to purchase their crofts, and we have had supposed consolidation through the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. Then, the Scottish Parliament had a crack with the Crofting Reform etc Act 2007, and a second go in 2010 with the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010. Now we have this bill, and I have probably missed something out. On top of all that, there are many regulations and there is guidance.

As Tavish Scott said, consolidation has been needed for some time, but previous Governments have ducked the issue. No one has been brave enough to tackle the issue, as Sir Humphrey may have said. Perhaps Minister Hacker—I am sorry; I meant Wheelhouse—will be the one to do so.

As well as consolidation and simplification of the law and regulations governing crofting, there are a number of other opportunities that we could take to improve life for crofters, particularly those in Skye and Lochalsh. Please forgive me for mentioning the recent study that was commissioned by the Scottish Crofting Federation and funded by the Scottish Government, which concluded that a Skye and Lochalsh abattoir could return a modest profit if the capital costs were funded. What has that to do with the bill? It is to do with sheep, cattle and pigs, without which there would be no crofting, in which case the bill would not be needed. The abattoir would have a maximum capacity for 4,000 sheep, 200 cattle and 130 pigs a year, with projected initial throughput of 800 sheep, 100 cattle and 130 pigs. The challenge will be to secure the funding to cover the capital costs. I intend to do all that I can to support that proposal, and I hope that the minister will look at it favourably.

Crofting is an important part of the heritage and identity of the Highlands and Islands; it is also the lifeblood of about 33,000 people across the country. The Highlands and Islands have some of the least favourable land for cultivation, so it is vital that we support our crofters and thereby ensure that, in return, the country always enjoys the security of producing good-quality foodstuffs for our own consumption, while benefiting the environment. We all rely on agriculture to give us the basic ingredients that make life possible, so we must all ensure that agriculture gets the support that it deserves. I am pleased that Parliament will back the bill.