The proposals set out in the Scottish Land Commission paper are designed to address the effects of Scotland’s concentrated land ownership.

The measures follow the 2019 report by the commission into the impact of concentrated land ownership, the most substantial investigation into the issue conducted.

That study concluded that while there are some benefits in economies of scale, there are significant risks of concentrated power and evidence that this is having adverse impacts in some places.

Now three specific proposals for new legislative mechanisms are examined in detail in today’s paper [note 2] which also considers how they could work in practice.

The three measures are based on ideas that are normal in other countries and economic sectors to help markets operate efficiently and safeguard the public interest. They are:

• The requirement for significant land holdings to publicly engage on, and publish, a Management Plan
• A Land Rights and Responsibilities Review process, a practical means of review where there is evidence of adverse impacts
• A new Public Interest Test that could determine whether significant land acquisitions create risks of concentrated power.

Hamish Trench, chief executive of the Scottish Land Commission, said: “History has given us a pattern of land ownership in which localised ‘monopoly’ power can and does exist. This creates risks that run counter to the needs of a modern, dynamic economy. The measures explored in this paper are proposed as targeted and proportionate ways to address these risks.

“The proposals are based on measures that are quite normal in other sectors of the economy and have parallels across Europe in the ways countries regulate land ownership. Our research has shown that Scotland is unusual in not having similar measures to safeguard the public interest.

“These proposals are part of an ongoing programme of reform. They will not transform the patterns of land ownership on their own. That will require wider reforms, for example on taxation, as well as non-statutory action, all of which the Land Commission is addressing in our current work.

“They do offer an effective next step in modernising land ownership, ensuring the ways our land markets work keep pace with society’s needs and expectations, supporting a fair and dynamic economy.”