SCF SAY COMMISSION SHOULD ELECT ITS OWN CONVENOR

The Scottish Crofting Federation is calling on the Minister for Environment Stewart Stevenson to let the new Crofting Commission elect its own convenor, rather than taking the option of having the position appointed by the Scottish Ministers.

The new Commission, which is the official crofting regulator, now has a majority of elected members and will take over responsibility for the regulation of crofting on 2^nd April.

SCF director Fiona Mandeville said that some SCF members have been questioning why there is not proportional area representation on the new Crofting Commission and SCF had put this question to the Government. The answer was that proportional representation is not required because commissioners, when they are on the board, aren’t there to act as area representatives. Their role is to carry out the functions of the Commission as these are expressed within the 2010 Act.

Ms Mandeville commented: “We can understand why crofters are asking these questions. It was confusing and misguided that the Government chose a system in which commissioners were elected, as if they were representing their electorate, from such unequally distributed constituencies. We believe this need be addressed at the next election.

“It appears that if the Commissioners are to work on a non-area-representative basis, as the Government is suggesting, then their collective role as a board seems to be to govern the wider Crofting Commission organisation, which is staffed by civil servants, in its function of regulator”.

Ms Mandeville concluded: “If it is to be organised in this way, then it is similar to a board of directors or trustees as in, for example, a community-based company like SCF. It follows from this that as a board the new Commission ought to elect its own chair – as we do and, I believe, the Cairngorm National Park does.

“This form of centralised organisation will also require strong local input if it is to work. Because SCF’s work is advised by a council of area representatives, it seems appropriate to me that the new Commission would also be advised by an area network, such as their established Area Assessors network, which also ought to become democratically elected.”

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