Crown Estate Inquiry Report Published

(This is a quick blog written at launch of Crown Estate report).

The Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has published its report into the Crown Estate in Scotland.

The report is brief, concise and to the point. It recommends devolving the Crown Estate Commissioners’ (CEC) responsibilities to Scotland following agreement between the Secretary of State for Scotland and Scottish Government on scheme of further devolution to a local level.

Given that the Scottish Government is already committed to such a scheme, (see their paper here) this should be welcomed by Ministers in Edinburgh.

The Liberal Democrats Michael Moore and Danny Alexander have now been given a clear direction of travel and it is down to them now to engage in discussions with Scottish Ministers to implement the Committee’s recommendations.

One recommendation is worth highlighting in light of my previous post. The Committee recommend “that the Secretary of State for Scotland directs the CEC to enter discussions with the Scottish Government, with a view to the CEC transferring the ownership of all of the King’s Park still held by the Crown to the Scottish Government.” (para 159)

Amen to that.