Crofters’ declarations
The Crofting Commission has issued its annual crofting census, with a deadline of March 31st for crofters to return their declarations.
The census is a legal duty, requiring crofters to declare their compliance with their duties to be resident on, or within 32 kilometres of, their croft, to not to neglect their croft, and to cultivate and maintain their croft, or to put it to another purposeful use.
The Commission has set itself a target to reduce the number of vacant crofts and is actively pursuing those in breach of their crofting duties.
In 20/21, the Commission reported that 21 cases of breach of duty were being progressed through ‘duties enforcement action’.
At the last census count, there were 6,123 tenanted and 281 owned crofts registered in the Western Isles. Across Scotland, only 1292 of the 16,527 registered crofters were under the age of 40, and only 16 under 21.
Last year’s Census Report highlighted lengthy delays in the delivery of the Commission’s regulatory function.
Turnaround times for Assignations have risen from an average of 8 weeks in 2019/20, to over to just under 13 weeks in 21/22. In the same period, wait times for those applying to decroft house sites had risen from 8 weeks to almost 14 weeks.
The report showed that 25 apportionments were approved from a total of 47 applications, with 235 successful assignations processed.
The Commission was in the spotlight at the start of last year, when Audit Scotland expressed extreme concern, noting that the organisation had fallen well below the standards expected of public bodies in Scotland.
Since that report, a new Board has been established under a new Chair, and further reports from the Auditor have concluded that the Commission was making significant improvements
The Crofting Commission is funded by Scottish Government, with an allocated budget of £3.25m.
Since 2021, the Commission has required all declarations to be returned on line.
Those without internet access are invited to contact the Crofting Commission on 01463 663439 and request that a member of staff completes the survey on their behalf.
