Land Reform (Scotland) Bill Stage One debate
I have prepared a brieifng for MSPs ahead of the Stage One debate on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill on Wednesday 26 March 2025. You can download a copy here.
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Category: Politics
Land Reform (Scotland) Bill – Landholdings in Scope
Today, I have published an analysis of the landholdings in Scotland above 1000ha and 3000ha that are in scope in relation to the provisions in Part I of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced to Parliament by the SNP/Scottish Green
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The Land Reform Review Group 10 Years Later
BACKGROUND Ten years ago today, the Land Reform Review Group (LRRG) published its Final Report. In July 2012, Scottish Ministers appointed the LRRG with the following remit:- “The relationship between the land and the people of Scotland is fundamental to
Continue readingLand reform Podcast
I like listening to the growing number of podcasts covering a wide range of topics. A particular favourite at the moment is the remarkable story of the diary that was at the centre of the controversy over the sinking of
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Scrapping the Council Tax is Straightforward
Today, the STUC has published an open letter to Scotland’s political parties urging them to revalue Scotland’s domestic property in order to provide an accurate tax base for the Council Tax which is still based on property valuations from 1991.
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Scottish Ministers refused consent for short-term lets
On 8 January 2020, the then Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart, made a statement to Parliament announcing the Government’s proposals for the regulation of short-term lets. I had been campaigning on this topic alongside other MSPs such as Kezia Dugdale for
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Short-term Lets – the confusing case of house swaps.
In my previous blog I discussed whether the new short-term licensing regime covers house swaps and house sitting. House swaps are where two parties agree to swap their home for a period of time (usually for a holiday). House sitting
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Short-term Lets – do house swaps and house-sitting require a license?
The Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short-term Lets) Order 2022 obliges hosts and operators of short-term let accommodation to obtain a license in order to continue to be able to trade legally. Excluded from the this requirement is
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Cui Bono? Who Leaked the Harassment Committee’s Conclusions?
TWO YEARS AGO Two years ago, on 18 March 2021, the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints (the Committee) met for the final time and signed off its Final Report which was published on 23 March 2021.
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Climate Finance and Carbon Offsetting
On 1 March 2023, NatureScot announced a £2 billion private finance pilot designed to secure landscape scale restoration of native woodlands. The project involves NatureScot and private companies Hampden and Co., Palladium and Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe) Ltd. NatureScot
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