Scottish Government consultations

The Scottish Government launched a consultation on the proposals, which ran for 12 weeks from 17 June until 20 September 2024. The consultation sought views on the proposals to inform decision-making and to establish whether these proposals were seen as the right changes to take forward through an affirmative statutory instrument.

A total of 24 written responses were received and of these 7 were from individuals; and 17 were from organisations.

All responses to the consultation were analysed and themes identified.

Given our consultation analysis, the Scottish Government will be proceeding with plans to bring forward subordinate legislation to:

• Dissolve the GCRB, the Regional Strategic Body for the Glasgow college region;
• Remove the designation of New College Lanarkshire   as the Regional Strategic Body for the Lanarkshire college region; and
• Designate each of the Glasgow and Lanarkshire colleges as “regional colleges”.

Subject to the Parliamentary process, we expect the new arrangements to be in place for the start of academic year 25-26.

We asked for your views on proposals for Crofting Law Reform.  The consultation covered potential legislative changes to support entry to crofting, to clarify the community aspect of crofting law, to promote use of common grazings, to strengthen adherence to crofters’ duties, to modify the Crofting Commission’s regulatory roles and powers, and to make simplifications and corrections to current legislation.

The consultation opened on 6 June 2024 and closed on 2 September 2024.

163 responses were received across the 3-month consultation period.  Of that, 136 responses (83%) were from individuals, and 27 (17%) were organisational responses. 

In addition, 257 people attended our 15 consultation events across the crofting counties in July and August, when the key proposals in the consultation were aired and debated.

Most of the Government’s proposals were well supported by the consultation responses, but some proposals divided opinion.  Many respondents made use of the free text boxes to give reasons for their views and to make a variety of additional suggestions.  Some respondents said that the proposals did not go far enough, and called for a more fundamental package of crofting reforms to be developed.

We are grateful to everyone who took time to share their views and provide a response to this consultation.

The Scottish Government’s Programme for Government (PfG) 2023-2024 announced our commitment to develop and consult on proposals to reform crofting law, and our PfG 2024-25 announced our commitment to analyse and publish the consultation responses, and to bring forward legislation.

The Scottish Government commissioned The Lines Between to undertake an independent, impartial analysis of the responses to the consultation, including the points made in the 15 consultation events.  This analysis was published on 15 November 2024, along with the responses themselves (where permission to publish was given).

We are carefully considering what we have heard during the consultation process to help inform development of the Crofting Bill, and are having further discussions with key stakeholders including the Crofting Commission and other members of the Crofting Bill Group and the Crofting Stakeholder Forum.

We sought views on what you like to do in your free time, what stops you from doing that, and asking what do culture and creativity mean to you. The survey opened on 8th July 2024 and closed on 2nd August 2024.

We received 504 survey responses, with representation across every local authority area in Scotland. The responses were mainly from individuals but included a small number (fewer than 14) from organisations.

Respondents were unanimously positive about the role that culture and creativity play in their life. The variety of responses highlight the way that culture and creativity are a major part in people’s expression and identity, with a strong link to social connections and wellbeing. While cultural engagement is related to people’s choices, interests and preferences, there are barriers for some groups. Cost, accessibility and infrastructure are three major challenges.

All survey responses were read and analysed by researchers, who produced a report: Cultural engagement in Scotland: insights from people's experiences. This report captures the different views with analysis of the main issues raised, and includes direct quotes from survey respondents.

This research has important implications. It underscores the need to ensure the approach to culture includes the everyday, the emerging, the established and the more formal, and that cultural events and programmes meet the needs and interests of different population groups.