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Nominations open for Crofting Commission elections

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tand as a Candidate for the Crofting Commission

Fishermen may apply

An election is being held to elect Crofting Commissioners from the six crofting constituencies:

  • Shetland
  • Orkney and Caithness
  • East Highlands (East Sutherland, Easter Ross, East Inverness and Moray)
  • Western Isles
  • West Highlands (West Sutherland, Wester Ross. Skye and Lochalsh)
  • South West Highlands (Lochaber, Argyll and Bute, Arran and Cumbrae, Small Isles)

One Commissioner will be elected from each constituency and will, along with the three Commissioners appointed by the Scottish Government, make up the Board of the Crofting Commission.

Nomination forms and other documents relating to the election can be downloaded from www.cne-siar.gov.uk/electionoffice/croftingelection; obtained on request, by e- mail to elections@cne-siar.gov.uk; or from the Election Offices detailed in the Notice of Election. Completed nomination forms must be submitted by Thursday 26 January 2017.

An election will be held in each contested constituency by postal ballot, with votes having to be returned by 4.00pm on Thursday 16 March 2017.  The count will take place in the Town Hall, Point Street, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2XF on Friday 17 March 2017 at 10.00am.

View from the Crofting Law Blog

The election nominations have been called at a time when the current Crofting Commission remains in chaos. The board is divided, the Convener is ostracised but remains in position possibly pending the outcome of a complaint made by him against Fergus Ewing MSP, Cabinet Minister with responsibility for crofting. Vacancies for two appointed Commissioners remain unfilled.

With elections now in sight there is perhaps a glimmer of hope that they will herald in a new batch of commissioners and, as a result a new and improved Crofting Commission. However, the current Convener, Colin Kennedy, has already expressed his intention to stand again for election. He has been accused by many as the root cause of the problems that have plagued the Crofting Commission throughout its first five years of existence. So will it be a change for the better on 17 March 2017 or another 5 years of chaos, trouble and strife? That is now in the hands of the crofters who are the electorate.

The image used to encourage people to stand for election as a crofting commissioner is curiously of a fisherman. I had the following exchange about that on Twitter:-

To stand for election as a crofting commissioner you do not actually have to be a crofter as long as you have been nominated by a crofter entitled to vote at the election. So a pure fisherman, without a croft, could be a crofting commissioner.

My father was a Shetland fisherman and not a crofter. He was not even a fisherman with a croft. However, he would, I am sure, have made a better crofting commissioner than many of the crofters who hold that position today. Perhaps non-crofters being nominated for and being elected as crofting commissioners would avoid the conflicts of interest and power struggles that have plagued the current Crofting Commission over the past five years? Perhaps it would be a good thing for crofting? What do you think?

Brian Inkster

Pantomime, Farce or Tragedy?

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Crofting Pantomime, farce or tragedy?

He’s right in front of you!

As news of the goings on at the Crofting Commission’s Board meeting on 14 December 2016 filtered out views thereon played out on Twitter:-

Image Credit: Dick Whittington © Hackney Empire

Twitter Hashtags poke fun at Crofting Convener

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Twitter Hashtag pokes fun at Crofting ConvenerFollowing revelations this morning that the Convener of the Crofting Commission, Colin Kennedy, requires a comfortable chair at meetings to aid his “posture, conduct and demeanour” followers of @CroftingLaw on Twitter started to have some fun.

In keeping with the headline of the original blog post we got the hashtag #achairfitforaconvener from @Janiceeem56:-

With the accompanying image:-

#achairfitforaconvener

@CrabbitCrofter started the hashtag #convenersthrone:-

With the accompanying image:-

The Crofting Convener's Portable Throne

The Crabbit Crofter clearly thought that a portable chair would save the Crofting Commission some money:-

Meanwhile @_JamieMcIntyre thought we needed to get #faultyfurniture trending:-

This would jokingly reference excuses for things that happened being down to faulty furniture e.g.:-

But there is, of course, a serious side to all of this as highlighted by @AlisonMacleod3:-

But the answer to that has not, so far, changed:-

Brian Inkster

Dismissed before you can resign

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As seen on Twitter today:-

Perhaps Torcuil meant the Crofting Commission 😉

Pressure mounts for a full investigation of the Crofting Commission

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The crofting law truth is out there

The truth is out there

On this blog on 25 April 2016 I called for the Scottish Government to review the Crofting Commission’s actions in connection with ‘The Common Clearances‘ due to an alleged abuse of power within Great Glen House.

The Scottish Crofting Federation and others have backed that call. Yesterday the Scottish Crofting Federation reiterated that call on the back of apparent historical revisionism on the part of the Crofting Commission. Statements by the Convener of the Crofting Commission, Colin Kennedy, previously published on their website have been deleted and a different version of events presented by their Chief Executive, Catriona Maclean.

The uncovering of this underhand behaviour on the part of the Crofting Commission has resulted in mounting pressure for  the Scottish Government to now actually do something about it.

Uisdean Robertson, Councillor and Chair of the Joint Crofting Committee of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), has been quoted as saying on Radio nan Gàidheal that the Council have no confidence in the members of the Crofting Commission and their Chief Executive. He has said that Crofting Commissioners and the Chief Executive all need to think about their positions in light of what has gone on.

Brian Wilson, writing in The Scotsman, has said:-

The immediate question is whether the Scottish Government is prepared to back their quango’s interpretation of the law and its heavy-handed approach to enforcement.

In the short term, a rapid inquiry into why the Crofting Commission has got itself into this mess and how it can be helped out of it may seem a relatively attractive option.

It has been asked on Twitter who would carry out such an inquiry. It must be someone with investigative experience (with a team at their disposal to assist them) and who is truly independent with no association whatsoever with Commissioners, the Convener or the Chief Executive.

Also, in my view, the Scottish Government should directly involve the Scottish Land Court by submitting a reference to them under section 53 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 to answer the questions in law that the Crofting Commission have been evading. Catriona Maclean, the Chief Executive of the Crofting Commission, has stated:-

The Commission is confident they are applying the law correctly but the only place this can be clarified is in the Scottish Land Court.

However, the Crofting Commission have yet to set out any legal argument with reference to statute or case law to show that they are applying the law correctly. I am strongly of the view that they are not. My detailed legal reasoning to them on this has gone unchallenged other than for them to say that once they make a decision that is final and cannot be changed by them!

If the Crofting Commission are so confident that they are applying the law correctly they should have nothing to fear by making a reference to the Scottish Land Court to confirm that. As they clearly do not wish to actually be found out to be in the wrong (the same is true of the decrofting debacle that resulted in unnecessary ‘remedial’ legislation at huge expense to the taxpayer when a Section 53 reference could easily have resolved the issue) the Scottish Government should advance that reference or insist that the Crofting Commission do so.

The truth is out there and it is in the Scottish Government’s hands to find it.

Brian Inkster

Image Credit: The X-Files © Ten Thirteen Productions, 20th Television, 20th Century Fox Television

When the costs of administering a Common Grazings Fund would exceed the income

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Neglect of Common Grazings now actively being encouraged by the Crofting Regulator!

Neglect of common grazings now actively being encouraged by the Crofting Regulator!

The Crofting Commission have, in statements and guidance issued surrounding ‘The Common Clearances‘, stressed the importance of funds received by Grazings Committees requiring to be immediately paid out to shareholders.

As indicated in previous posts on this blog examples of the “nonsensical” and “totally impractical” stance by the Crofting Commission have been given by Donald Macsween on his blog Air An Lot.

A comment from Donald Murdie today on the Crofting Law Blog gives more practical examples of the need for funds to be maintained for the benefit of the common grazings.

Also today on Twitter I had an exchange of tweets on this topic with Rebecca Hutton. She pointed out that:-

Still not cleared things up re grazings regs saying to maintain a grazings fund. For example, we get £10 for island rent which would mean spending £22.55 to send out cheques of 24p each!!

Indeed. If you were to follow Crofting Commission stipulations who would meet the deficits that could arise in Common Grazings bank accounts?

Another question that the Crofting Commission are unlikely to answer in a hurry.

Brian Inkster