A bill to reform Scotland’s Crown Estate and give communities more control over its assets has been introduced to the Scottish Parliament. The bill proposes new powers for Scottish ministers to change who manages Scottish Crown Estate assets, including local authorities and communities.

Cabinet secretary for land reform, Roseanna Cunningham said: “I believe strongly in maximising the benefits of the Crown Estate for our communities and the country as a whole, while ensuring assets are well maintained and managed, with high standards of openness and accountability.

NFU Scotland welcomed the bill saying that it gave its Crown Estate tenant more certainty. “The tenants wish to see the estate retained as a whole, with a central management function, and this is what NFUS has been lobbying for on their behalf. We have achieved a formal working group for the tenants, and this has had regular liaison meetings with Scottish Government and Crown Estate Scotland staff.

The bill proposes that where assets are transferred to an alternative manager, there is a management and accounting framework within which they must operate.