J001010 - Lycetts Newsletter Jan 2024 LR - Flipbook - Page 28
SCOT T ISH
CH A M BE R OF
L EGISL AT ION
Viewed from south of the border, the current array of proposed Scottish legislation must look
like a glimpse through the Looking Glass at a SNP/Greens tea party. The legislative programme
is heavily in昀氀uenced by the Bute House Agreement, which sets out the Green Party’s
disproportionate in昀氀uence.
Tim Coulson
Associate Director,
Scotland
THE COS T- OF- LIVING AC T 2022
SHORT-TERM LET LICENCES
This legislation was extended to March 2024,
including a rent cap limiting increases to three per
cent, albeit with an ability to apply for up to six per
cent where specific costs can be shown to have
increased. While the current Bill is time bound and
emerged from a short-term perceived emergency,
ScotGov is consulting on mechanisms to prevent
rents returning to open market levels, with a Bill being
prepared to cement some of these changes. This has
produced a marked downturn in confidence in the
private rented and new-build sectors.
As of 30th September 2023, owners of holiday lets
must have applied for a licence under the new
regulations. Obtaining this is complex, requiring the
submission of a plethora of information, plus
payment of a fee, variable by local authority area and
size of the property.
D R A F T A G R I C U LT U R E A N D R U R A L
COMMUNITIES BILL
Despite publication in late 2023, future support for
Scottish farming remains wreathed in obscurity.
Agriculture for the Controlled Regeneration of the
Environment (ARCA) is a draft framework Bill setting
out ScotGov’s high level aims for agricultural support
– high quality food production, climate mitigation,
nature restoration and rural development.
Unfortunately, it contains no detail as to how farmers
are to be supported in these laudable aims. Instead, it
offers various provisions including a five year plan, a
code of practice on sustainable agriculture, and a
future requirement for continuous professional
development (CPD) being three such provisions. How
ARCA works when it achieves royal assent will depend
mainly on the secondary legislation that follows.
This continued uncertainty around agricultural
support indicates a civil service lacking in
management resources. An insistence to follow a very
different path from the rest of the UK reflects the
SNP’s ambition to develop agricultural policy in
parallel to Europe, in the hope that a future
independent Scotland would rejoin the EU. A political
stratagem that directly impacts Scottish Agriculture.
N ATION A L PA R K S
ScotGov has indicated its intention to create at least
one new National Park (probably more) by 2026. The
list of runners and riders is growing.
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ENERGY PERFORMANCE
CERTIFIC ATION (EPCS )
ScotGov appears to be rowing back on a 2028
deadline for EPCs on residential properties. Instead,
any rules are likely to be based on average potential
rather than a minimum expenditure. Best advice is
that any improvements made should be carefully
recorded and added to the account at a later date.
LAND REFORM
ScotGov has indicated its intention to bring forward a
further Land Reform Bill in addition to the 2003 and
2016 versions. The 2024 draft is expected to include
proposals around transparency of ownership,
community empowerment and sustainability, with a
likely public interest test devised around these goals.
The Scottish Land Rights and Responsibilities
Statement 2022 will influence the proposal.
WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND
MUIRBURN (SCOTL AND) BILL
Currently at stage two of the legislative process,
assuming it passes onto the statute book in 2024, this
will introduce the principle of licensing grouse moors
(other types of shooting could be included later by
secondary legislation) and limiting a manager’s ability
to undertake Muirburn – albeit that these proposals
should be subject to change.
Our partners at Scottish Land and Estates continue to
consult, challenge, and cajole on behalf of their
members working in an often challenging political
environment.
