The Land Reform Policy Group in Scotland

Abstract

In Scotland, the land question comprises issues associated with the legal context, ownership, use and management of the resource. The context within which the land question has been addressed has changed quite dramatically over the past decade, as a consequence of the Scottish Parliament and the policy impetus associated with sustainable development. These have combined to focus attention on the relationship between economic change and environmental quality and on the appropriateness of management regimes to secure a feasible balance of interests. In 1997, the (then) Scottish Office established a Land Reform Policy Group to identify and assess proposals for land reform in rural Scotland. Its main aim was to provide the Scottish Parliament with an agenda for action on land reform. The Land Reform Policy Group has stated that land reform legislation should set out clearly the objectives of land use and land reform;the basis for public sector involvement in land matters; and bring together a comprehensive range of measures for removing barriers and promoting positive action. This paper examines the emergence of the Policy Group as an institutional sponsor in effecting an agenda for land reform in Scotland.