To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the community right to buy review. (S6O-05700)

The Scottish Government accepts the review and its recommendations for improvements to community rights to buy, and I am grateful to all who took the time to respond to the consultation that we undertook on it. The Government is exploring its options on legislation to take forward the recommendations. That will, of course, be a decision for the next Administration. However, where legislation is not required, we will act quickly, and work is already under way with stakeholders to make what progress we can in the meantime.

The existing processes have achieved a lot, in revitalising parts of Scotland through community right to buy mechanisms, but those processes ask a lot of the groups that put forward proposals. What are the Cabinet secretary’s views on how that process can be made easier and on how genuine mistakes that are made by the council, private owners or others can be made to carry no final consequences for the process?

Presiding Officer, as this is her last portfolio question, I put on record my best wishes to my good friend Mairi Gougeon, who started with me in 2016. I wish her all the best for the future, and I know that she will be sorely missed by our national Parliament—although perhaps that is not as sore as my legs were when we went for a run during our first session. I took a long time to recover from that.

I thank Fulton MacGregor for those kind comments. Some of my favourite memories are from those early days when we came to the Parliament together and served on the Justice Committee. He did not do as badly on that run as he thought, but I am glad to hear that he suffered afterwards. [Laughter.]

On Fulton MacGregor’s substantive point and the concerns that he has raised about community right to buy, he is absolutely right. The points that he has made came through loud and clear in the consultation and have been made to me by community groups that have been through the right to buy process—that it has been difficult and cumbersome. Community right to buy, and the various other rights that have been in operation, have achieved a lot, but we are committed to improving on that by making the process less of a burden on groups that seek to use it. Recommendations include combining and simplifying the rights, reducing the burden on voting and eligibility requirements, and extending the registration period for groups. All those measures will help the process.

Ultimately, the process has to be robust. However, making it easier is a goal of the review, and I encourage members to look more broadly at the detail that is contained in that.

How will the recommendations in the community right to buy review strengthen existing mechanisms or create new support mechanisms so that more communities can take ownership of their land? Is it likely that an amending bill will be needed, next session?

I thank Mercedes Villalba for her interest in the topic. As has been highlighted in the review report, delivering on some of its recommendations would need primary legislation. Ultimately, that will be for the next Government to decide on and take forward. However, where we can take action and make progress, we want to do that quickly, which is why I have highlighted the work that we are undertaking with stakeholders. We want to make sure that the process is accessible. Ultimately, it has to be fair to the landowner and the communities that are trying to access it, so we have to strike that balance while making those improvements where we can.

I take this opportunity to wish Mercedes Villalba all the very best. I have enjoyed our work together. I say that to Rhoda Grant, too, as I missed her out in the debate earlier. Thank you for your engagement on the critical pieces of legislation on which we have worked, and I wish you all the very best for the future.

That concludes portfolio questions on rural affairs, land reform and islands. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item.