⌛ Closing soon
Applications for our Tenant Farming Officer role close this Sunday.
If you’re looking to be part of a team working to make a real difference across Scotland’s agricultural sector, we’d like to hear from you.
Find out more and apply:
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📸 James MacKessack-Leitch
We’re recruiting to grow our tenant farming team.
Tenant Farming Commissioner Rob Black shares more about the role and how to apply 👇
We have published an ITT for work to support the development of a model lease for environmental purposes.
This project will contribute to implementation of provisions in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025.
Deadline: 12:00 on 18 May
Contract: up to £40,000 (inc of VAT)
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Over the past few weeks we’ve been spotlighting our refreshed good practice protocols.
They support the Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement (LRRS), setting out expectations for engagement, stewardship, transparency and opportunities for communities.
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Last week, we published findings from a report exploring tax options to reduce emissions from land and support land reform.
🔎 Take a look at the key insights from this important research.
A key theme across our protocols is transparency.
This week we’re highlighting our Protocol on transparency of ownership and decision-making — helping ensure people can understand who owns land, who makes decisions, and how those decisions are taken.
Find out more. buff.ly/7ZJF9dk
The key takeaway: better land data and modern systems are essential if tax is to play a more strategic role in land and environmental policy.
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A carbon land tax on peatland faces practical challenges right now, including:
⏺️ Measuring emissions at landholding level
⏺️ Gaps in land ownership & land condition data
⏺️ Limited land valuation and information systems
Peatland is Scotland’s largest source of land use emissions, but also a vital carbon store when restored.
Land accounts for over half of the UK’s wealth but contributes a relatively small amount to the tax base. Strengthening this link could support climate and wider policy goals.
New advice from the Scottish Land Commission highlights how tax could support climate action and land reform — but also the practical challenges of introducing a peatland carbon tax. 🧵
💡 Protocol spotlight: Opportunities for ownership, lease and use of land and buildings.
This protocol encourages landowners and managers to consider opportunities for communities to buy, lease or use land where it could support local wellbeing and development.
Read more 👇
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📢 Job opportunity: Tenant Farming Officer
Join the Scottish Land Commission and support the work of the TFC, helping improve relationships and good practice across the tenant farming sector.
📍 Inverness | 4 days / week | 2 year contract
🗓 Apply by 19 April
📄https://buff.ly/wIZxx33
Islay visit – 12–13 March
Following the earlier cancellation due to ferry disruption, Rob Black, Tenant Farming Commissioner, will now be visiting Islay this week.
If you’d like to arrange a meeting while he’s on the island, please get in touch - tfc@landcommission.gov.scot
Last week we looked at community engagement, but engagement is only part of the picture.
This week we’re highlighting our Protocol on good stewardship of land, setting out expectations for long-term, responsible management that supports communities, nature and future generations.
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Today the Scottish Land Commission publishes its ScotLand Futures roadmap, setting out practical steps to reform how land is owned and used.
Three priorities:
🌱 Open up land opportunities
⚖️ Rebalance ownership power
🏘️ Put communities at the heart of decisions
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Following on from last week’s spotlight on Common Good land and buildings, this week we’re highlighting our Protocol on Community Engagement.
It sets out expectations for early, proactive and transparent engagement when decisions about land may affect communities.
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⚠️ Update: Islay visit cancelled due to ferry
Unfortunately, due to ferry cancellations the TFC is not able to travel to Islay on 18–19 February.
We apologise for the short notice and for the earlier post confirming the visit. We appreciate that this may cause inconvenience.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be spotlighting a different protocol and explaining why it matters.
This week: Common Good land and buildings. These assets are held for public benefit, and how they are managed matters for transparency, community trust and local decision-making.
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TFC – Island Visits
Rob Black & Peter McDougall will be on Bute this evening and on Islay on 18–19 Feb, attending STFA meetings.
They’re keen to meet tenant farmers and landlords informally during the day to hear about experiences of tenancy and the sector more widely.
tfc@landcommission.gov.scot
How do you value land – and why does it matter for reform?
In our latest guest blog, Dr Bryonny Goodwin-Hawkins unpacks why land valuation is harder than it looks, drawing on recent discussions in Wales and reflecting on what this means for tax and land reform across the UK.
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Relinquishment and Assignation has been in place for nearly five years, but is it working for new entrants?
In his latest blog, Peter MacDougall looks at the evidence so far and asks whether opportunities for new entrants are being fully realised.
👉 Read the full blog: buff.ly/b9PW7mh
One year on from launching our Community Benefits from Nature project, Annabel shared reflections on what we’ve learned so far.
We’ve also developed practical resources to support collaboration between communities and natural capital projects 👇
Blog: buff.ly/3i7oijt
Resources : buff.ly/Mcx1YqU
We’ve refreshed our Good Practice Protocols.
They set out clear expectations for responsible land ownership & management, based on experience since 2019.
Good practice matters. When landowners & communities work together, it builds trust and supports positive long-term outcomes.
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Na chuala sinn bho ScotLand Futures – a-nis ri fhaighinn sa Ghàidhlig.
Many responses highlighted the strong connection between land, culture and language. We want our ScotLand Futures work to reflect that, including through bilingual publications where possible.
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What have we learned so far about community benefits from nature? 🌱
After a year of working with landowners and communities, we’re sharing key lessons on trust, skills and collaboration, and what comes next as delivery gets under way.
Read the blog: buff.ly/3i7oijt
⚡ In Wolfhagen, Germany, citizens co-own their energy company through a cooperative.
They help govern decisions, power their homes with local renewables, and share in the profits.
📖 Read the full case study in our Governance Guide: buff.ly/LIGQB9P
We know inboxes can get busy, so we keep our emails focused and useful.
📆 By sign up to our mailing list you will receive our bi-monthly newsletter with the latest news, events, research and stories from across Scotland’s land sector - no spam, just clear, timely updates.
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People across Scotland told us in our ScotLand Futures survey about the impact derelict and abandoned sites can have on communities, especially when they’re left to decay for years.
Our online tool helps people understand how these places can be brought back into use.
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New insights from the Rural Land Market Data Report 2025 show forestry land values cooling, small-scale sales dominating, strong per-hectare farmland prices and ongoing data challenges for land transparency.
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