Although the majority of committee members support the general principles of the bill, their newly published report states that significant amendments will be required to make the bill delivers its aims.

The report states that part one of the bill in particular “risks not delivering, with its approach seen as potentially burdensome and bureaucratic”. The committee called for “processes that are as simple as they can be, are not an administrative headache, and actually deliver positive change for people.”

The committee did, however, welcome the bill’s provision for estates to produce land management plans (LMPs) following community consultation. It said these plans have the “potential to create an accessible ‘one stop shop’ for information about large parcels of land and improve transparency about estate ownership and use”.

The committee was not convinced, however, that the bill’s provision to offer communities the opportunity to buy land by making ‘off-market sales’ harder and giving them more time to register an interest to buy, will have major impact. It was also disappointed the Scottish government did not complete its review of the community right to buy before introducing the bill, so these could be considered together.

The committee supported the principle of ‘lotting’: giving ministers a discretionary power, where certain conditions are met, to require a large estate to be broken into smaller lots when it is put up for sale. But it said that independent professional advice should be sought to support these decisions. The bill must also be strengthened to require express consideration of the public interest in each case where lotting is being proposed.

The committee backed most of the provisions in part two of the bill, which attempts to reverse the continuing decline in agricultural tenancies and enable the sector to play a fuller role in responding to the twin climate and biodiversity crises. However, it said that care will be needed to strike the right balance between landlord and tenant, otherwise even less land might be leased. There must also be broader consideration, over and above legal reforms, of how to actively encourage the leasing of land for agriculture.

Committee convener, Edward Mountain MSP, said: “This is a large and complex bill which proposes fundamental changes to the way land is managed in Scotland, and it is crucial that it strikes the right balance.

“We need rural communities and islands to thrive, and we need to support and encourage action to tackle our climate and biodiversity crises. But we must also ensure the action we take is proportionate and delivers real benefit for communities and the natural environment, rather than more paperwork. 

“Only eight per cent of the respondents to our call for views thought that the bill in its current form would fulfil the Scottish Government’s objectives. The government’s own independent advisers, the Scottish Land Commission, also agree the bill needs substantial changes at stage two to fully deliver. Care will be needed at amending stages to get each new detail right.

“During our year-long inquiry, we sought to hear from diverse voices via our evidence sessions, our call for views and being out and about in rural and agricultural Scotland. Thank you to everyone who took the time to contribute to scrutiny and help with our understanding of this bill.”