Seòmar agus comataidhean

The committee will report on the outcome of the instrument in due course. I invite committee members to delegate authority to me, as convener, to approve the draft report for publication. Are you all happy?

Members indicated agreement.

Thank you, First Minister, and thank you to your officials for attending for a somewhat longer—[Interruption.] Did I say First Minister?

Agenda item 6 is consideration of the recommended candidates for appointment to the board of the Scottish Land Commission, including the tenant farming commissioner.

Last week, the committee agreed to hold a formal evidence session with the prospective candidates. Parliament has been given a role in approving Land Commission appointments, which in practice means that the committee will make a recommendation to Parliament. We have agreed to have this session to assist us in making an informed recommendation, taking into account the recommendations set out in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016.

I am pleased to welcome Dr Lucy Beattie and Dr Calum MacLeod, who have been nominated as land commissioners, and Robert Black, who has been nominated as tenant farming commissioner. I am grateful to you all for coming along today, and I commend you for putting yourselves forward for these important roles. We have before us information about you and your relevant skills and experience.

We will be going into questions, but first of all, as I will be asking about agriculture—which will not surprise you, Robert—I remind members of my entry in the register of members’ interests as a member of a family farming partnership in Moray. I have an old-style tenancy for a small bit of land as well as a non-agricultural tenancy for another bit of land, and I was also a surveyor for 12 years, doing agricultural land letting. I hope that that is a full enough declaration.

I also say at the outset that I was hugely impressed with the way in which Bob McIntosh took on the role of tenant farming commissioner and what he did in that role. I am glad to put that on the record, because I think that he made a huge step forward in a difficult area and his careful and considered judgment has made it easier for all sides to work together. That probably suggests the importance of the roles that we are addressing here.

My first question is for Robert Black. Can you explain what agricultural experience you would bring to the role of tenant farming commissioner?

The trouble is that if you all look away when you are asked who wants to go first, it falls to me to nominate somebody and I invariably pick the wrong person. However, Josh Doble has saved the day. Please do not all look away; raise your hand.

Can I quiz you on that so that I understand it? In the legislation, “community body” is defined with regard to the leasing of land. Are you saying that you also want “community” to be defined in respect of consultation, and that you do not feel that it is sufficiently defined at present? Is that what you are saying?

So you want that section of the bill to be rewritten and a definition of “community” put in. When it comes to setting out a plan, it might be very difficult in parts of Scotland where the nearest community is miles from the bit of land in question.

I am not sure that I see that, but I will reflect on what you have said.

Rhoda Grant has some questions. Rhoda, you have waited very patiently—the floor is yours.

This is going to get messy, because the next questions will come from you, Bob Doris. Please stick to the questions about threshold, because the deputy convener wants to come in and I am keen to come in, too, but you are getting the first crack at this.

We will turn to the deputy convener, and then to Rhoda Grant, who has been waiting patiently to ask her penultimate questions.

Yes, of course.