Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009

The third report on proposals and policies (RPP3 - the draft climate change plan)) is due to be published in January 2017 and Parliament has a maximum of 60 days to report on the document.  Four committees of the Scottish Parliament have agreed to collaborate to consider the draft plan: 

• The Economy, Jobs and Fair Work Committee (EJW) 
• The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee (ECCLR) 
• The Local Government and Communities Committee (LGC) 
• The Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (REC)

The REC has circulated an Information Pack for Stakeholders to provide more information about the process and I have placed this, together with a copy of the covering e-mail message in a Dropbox folder.  There is more background on the Scottish Government website.

No doubt many members of the Forum will wish to contribute to the review process independently and I propose that I keep a watching brief in case there is any input that the Forum as a whole could usefully provide.  The areas that the ECCLR will consider are likely to be of most relevance to the Forum.  I will welcome any suggestions from members about how the Forum could provide input.

I will be arranging a meeting for Lord Lindsay and me with the Cabinet Secretary for REC, Fergus Ewing MSP, in January and we will raise this for discussion as part of the meeting. 

Review of the Muirburn Code

The Review of the Muirburn Code is one of the main projects that the Forum is working on, at present.  The review has been taking place behind the scenes through 2016, but the tempo is increasing.  A series of workshops will be held in February and March and this will lead to the development of a final version of the draft Code.  This will be submitted to the Scottish Government and it will be launched over the summer so that it is place for the start of the next muirburn season in October.

There is a dedicated Blog for the review project and this will contain updates and other information.

Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement Consultation

The Scottish Government has opened a consultation on the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement.

Under Part 1 of the Land Reform (Scotland) 2016 Act, Scottish Ministers must prepare, consult upon and publish a Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement. This forms a key part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to end the ‘stop-start’ nature of land reform. The Statement will underpin a range of Scottish Government strategies related to land rights and responsibilities. This consultation is an opportunity to express your views on the content of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement.

A press release and a consultation paper are available on the Scottish Government's website.

Please respond to this consultation using the Scottish Government’s consultation platform, Citizen Space. You can view and respond to this consultation online.

For more detail, contact: Stephen Krzyzanowski, Land Reform Policy Support and Administrative Officer.  Tel: 0131 244 4855.