The Land Reform Policy Group in Scotland: Institutional sponsorship for land reform?

In Scotland, the land question comprises issues associated with the legal context, ownership, use an d management of the resource. The con text within which the land question has been addressed has changed quite dramatically over the past decade, as a consequence of the Scottish Parliament an d the policy impetus associated with sustainable development. These have combined to focus attention on the relationship between economic change an d environmental quality an d on the appropriateness of management regimes to secure a feasible balance of interests. In 1997, the (then) Scottish Office established a Land Reform Policy Group to identify an d assess proposals for land reform in rural Scotland. Its main aim was to provide the Scottish Parliament with an agenda for action on land reform. The Land Reform Policy Group has stated that land reform legislation should set out clearly the objectives of land use and land reform; the basis for public sector involvement in land matters; and bring together a comprehensive range of measures for removing barriers and promoting positive action. This paper examines the emergence of the Policy Group as an institution al sponsor in effecting an agenda for land reform in Scotland.