Sunday Politics Scotland on BBC One Scotland this week looked at the crisis in the Crofting Commission.
Presenter Gordon Brewer introducing the topic said:-
Now Chaos on the Croft.
The body responsible for protecting and regulating Scotland’s crofting is embroiled in some dramatic internal politics of its own.
As Len Cooksley reports pressure is increasing on the head of the Crofting Commission to resign after the Scottish Government became involved.
Len Cooksley:-
Scotland has nearly 20,000 crofts overseen by the Crofting Commission.
After suspending two local grazing committees on Lewis on the grounds of financial missmanagement it was forced into a u-turn.
There were claims the commission were both heavy handed and may have acted illegally.
Now the Scottish Government’s got involved. It called on the commission and its convener, Colin Kennedy, to apologise.
Last week Mr Kennedy walked out of a commissioners meeting. Those that remained issued that apology and then passed a vote of no confidence in Mr Kennedy.
The First Minister gave her take on events in parliament earlier this week.
Nicola Sturgeon MSP:-
I note that crofting commissioners have unanimously called on the convener to resign.
The Scottish Government have requested further information from the convener in relation to last week’s events.
While the Government would not ordinarily intervene in the internal operations of an independent statutory body the legislation does give Scottish Ministers power to act if required.
Len Cooksley:-
MSPs are watching developments with interest.
Tavish Scott MSP:-
There is no doubt that there has been a fall out amongst commissioners and that has been caused by the behaviour of the convener of the Crofting Commission.
What this organisation needs now is a new convener, a reconstituted board and the ability to get back what it is meant to do and that is work for crofters right across Scotland.
Len Cooksley:-
We understand Mr Kennedy has no plans to resign but would make no further comment.
The implication is clear: either he jumps or he’ll be pushed.
Gordon Brewer:-
Well earlier I spoke to Brian Inkster who is a lawyer and blogger specialising in crofting matters.
Gordon Brewer asked:-
Well the crofting commissioners have no confidence in their leader. He won’t resign and the Scottish Government is threatening to get involved. What on earth is going on?
Brian Inkster answered:-
Well it all goes back to December time last year when they decided to put out of office a grazings committee in Lewis. The first one was Mangersta and then subsequently into 2016 they put out two other grazings committees: one in Upper Coll and the other in Lochaber.
Gordon Brewer:-
Right but what I don’t understand is that Mr Kenedy the man who is the commissioner is accused of issuing edicts on things like payments over common grazings and peoples backs are up about this. But how can he do that surely the commissioners have to decide to do this.
Brian Inkster:-
Well the commissioners should be deciding to do it. It looks as though he has been instrumental in pushing these issues forward.
There were three sort of main issues I suppose.
The first one was payment by grazings committees to shareholders in common grazings of monies that had come into grazings funds. His argument was that these monies had to be paid out immediately. So there would be immediate payment to the shareholders and if monies were required back to maintain the common grazings they would issue a levy onto the shareholders.
Nowhere in the law did it say that these immediate payments had to be made and indeed it just didn’t make any kind of logical or common sense approach to deal with it in that way.
Subsequently there were two other issues.
One was that he was seeking to stop common grazings committees receiving SRDP funding – which is really grants from the governmnet to assist in the maintenace and improvement of the common grazings.
And latterly there was an issue around VAT registration where it was being said that common grazings could not be VAT registered whereas historically they always have been.
Gordon Brewer:-
Right, now, what happened? At some point the commissioners had a vote of no confidence.
Brian Inkster:-
That was just over a week ago in Brora. That was on the back of Colin Kennedy walking out of a meeting. He closed the meeting and walked out on the basis that the commissioner for the Western Isles said he was no longer declaring an interest in the Western Isles cases which he had previously done and was now wanting to vote on any issues concerning the Western Isles.
Gordon Brewer:-
On the face of it you would think that if the commissioners have no confidence in him he has to go but he doesn’t does he because he was elected?
Brian Inkster:-
He was elected and there is nothing in the law that says if the commissioners have a vote of no confidence he must go. One would imagine that if all the commissioners are against you, if the Scottish Crofting Federation, NFU Scotland, MSPs across all cross parties and the press are all saying it’s time to go you would think what is the point of clinging on here.
Gordon Brewer:-
The Scottish Government has threatened to become involved. What can they do?
Brian Inkster:-
In terms of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993, Scottish Ministers have the power if they consider that a commissioner is unable or unfit to exercise the functions of a member or unsuitable to continue as a member they can then remove a member from office.
Gordon Brewer:-
Now, Brian Inkster, just to give us a little sense of what the background to this is because it is quite complicated. But is the issue underlying all this the use of land and the fact, for example, wind farms wants to come in or housing wants to come in and it is about whether the common ground is allocated to the community the funds from it or to individuals.
Brian Inkster:-
It is linked to the funds that come into a common grazings. On a common grazings, especially as you mentioned wind farming, so in recent times the potential for larger sums of money to come into a common grazings exists. And it is linked to the distribution of those monies and there was an insistance on the part of the convener that those monies had to be paid out as soon as it was received. That there was no ability to hold onto the money to use it to spend on improvements within the common grazings. The Scottish Government said that was not the correct view in law.
Gordon Brewer:-
Alright, we will have to leave it there. Brian Inkster thank you very much indeed for joining us.
Brian Inkster:-
Thank you.
Gordon Brewer:-
Well earlier I spoke to Colin Kennedy. He is the Crofting Commission boss who is in the middle of all of this controversy. I spoke to him on the telephone from Coll.
Gordon Brewer asked:-
Are you going to stay in the post?
Colin Kennedy responded:-
I have no intention of resigning.
Gordon Brewer:-
Why not?
Colin Kennedy:-
As matters stand, I believe the commission have acted wholly within the law at all times and until such times as we have legal advice to the contrary, I will maintain my position.
Gordon Brewer:-
But the Scottish Government has said it has the power to get involved. If they do get involved and say you have to go you will have to go won’t you?
Colin Kennedy:-
That will be the case, yes.
Gordon Brewer:-
So just to be clear on that. If the Scottish Government says look given that your commissioners have voted no confidence in you we don’t think you can stay in post you will have to resign.
Colin Kennedy:-
That may be the case.
Gordon Brewer:-
Why are you so determined? You walked out of the meeting didn’t you, the other week? Why have you fallen out with all of the commissioners?
Colin Kennedy:-
No I didn’t walk out of a meeting.
I formally declared the meeting closed in light of an advancement by a commissioner supported by the deputy accountable officer that they had obtained information from the standards commission which I requested sight of prior to determination which failed to materialise.
Accordingly given the nature of the business at hand I had no alternative other than to formally close the September meeting of the Crofting Commission prior to my departure.
Gordon Brewer:-
Okay, but the commissioners have said they no longer have any confidence in you. Which is not brilliant from your point of view is it?
Colin Kennedy:-
I am unaware of the commissioners having said they have no confidence in me.
Gordon Brewer:-
You are not aware of that?
Colin Kennedy:-
Correct.
Gordon Brewer:-
So as far as you are concerned what? The Crofting Commission is carrying on its work as per normal?
Colin Kennedy:-
Well I would suggest at this moment in time that the Crofting Commission conducted a meeting on 28th September which is in non compliance or in accordance with the standing orders of the Crofting Commission and therefore it would appear in my view to be ultra vires.
Gordon Brewer:-
So right. If they still have confidence in you why would they do that?
Colin Kennedy:-
I couldn’t comment on what they do at informally constituted meetings.
Gordon Brewer:-
So right. You think that they still have confidence in you but that they have held an ultra vires meeting without you for reasons that are inexplicable?
Colin Kennedy:-
Correct.
Gordon Brewer:-
The substance of this is about you, they allege, that you made various determinations about things like payments in the form of edicts – that they weren’t really consulted.
Colin Kennedy:-
Absolutely incorrect.
At no time under my leadership have any decisions been taken without full endorsement of the board and based on legal advice.
And if I could comment prior to those decisions as per the board minute of 15 September 2015, prior to taking any of those decisions a formal request was made to the Chief Executive to obtain legal advice to support the papers presented to the board on which the board took the decisions.
Gordon Brewer:-
Alright Colin Kennedy we have to leave it. Thank you very much for joining us.
Colin Kennedy:-
Thank you.
N.B. For a limited period (29 days) you can watch this episode of Sunday Politics Scotland on iPlayer (at about 54 minutes in)
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