Following on from Cabinet Secretary Fergus Ewing presentation to the Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on Crofting on Wednesday 28 March NFU Scotland have written to the Scottish Government outlining their enthusiasm to be part of further consultations on the new Crofting Bill

In the letter, NFU Scotland President Andrew McCornick wrote: “NFUS welcomes the commitment given by Scottish Government to examining the modernisation of crofting law within this Parliamentary session to make it transparent, understandable and workable.

“We recognise that this desire to make legislative changes in this parliamentary term is still dependent on approval by the Cabinet, within the context of the Scottish Government’s legislative priorities, but we would urge the Cabinet to support this urgent need for crofting law reform to sort out the immediate and pressing anomalies and difficulties with the current crofting legislation that is making it unworkable in some instances.

“NFUS are keen to work with Scottish Government on the development of the promised National Development Plan for Crofting. It is my view that this is an essential piece of work that needs to be developed to inform any further legislative and policy changes.

“NFUS would also like to work with Scottish Government and the Crofting Commission to develop the Commission’s role in better equipping crofters with the up-to-date information on schemes and projects that they need.”

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Contact Douglas Ross on 0131 472 4108