Angus South MSP Graeme Dey has welcomed an assurance received from the Scottish Land Commission that the forthcoming code of practice covering land agents will be informed by the lived experiences of the farming sector.
Mr Dey had sought confirmation that key industry bodies such as the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, Scottish Land and Estates and the National Farmers Union Scotland would, as well as the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, be consulted.
The assurance came from Bob McIntosh, the new Tenant Farming Commissioner, following Mr Dey raising the matter with the Scottish Government.
Mr McIntosh stated: “It is important that the evidence on which the report [to Scottish Ministers] is based is gathered in a comprehensive and objective way and I will therefore be commissioning a survey of landlords and tenants to gather information on the extent and nature of the involvement of agents and to capture the experiences, both good and bad, of landlords and tenants who have had involvement with agents.”
The Tenant Farming Commissioner is charged with submitting, by 31st March 2018, the report to Scottish Ministers on the operation of agents of landlords and tenants that will make recommendations as are considered necessary to improve the way that those offering land agent services operate.
Graeme Dey MSP commented: “I am glad that the Tennant Farming Commissioner will be actively seeking out the sector’s views, and ensuring that the real life of experience of tenant farmers, and indeed landlords, in dealing with Land Agents is taken full account of.
“As the MSP who brought the relevant amendments to the Land Reform Scotland Act to require that such a code be produced I am pleased that the voice of those who have found themselves on the receiving end of practices that do nothing to create harmony in the agricultural sector will be heard.
“The majority of people who deliver land agent services conduct themselves in a responsible and professional manner. But everyone connected with the farming industry has heard tales of behaviour by some which is frankly unacceptable. A strong code of practice is needed to address this.”
