Scottish Affairs Committee to speak to crofters about post Brexit concerns

Crofting is an historic and important part of agricultural practices in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and the Scottish Affairs Committee will consider the specific needs and challenges of crofting during their visit to the Island.

Speaking ahead of the visit, Chair of the Committee Pete Wishart MP said: “Crofts must be recognised as an integral part of Scottish agriculture. A failure to do so would be to overlook one of the characteristics that makes Scottish agriculture so distinct from agriculture in the rest of the UK.

“My Committee is ensuring that crofting gets the focus it deserves in our inquiry into the future of Scottish agriculture by visiting the crofts of the Isle of Lewis.

“We look forward to hearing the view of the crofters, as well as the views of the Isle’s residents on wider issues facing island communities today.”

Donald MacKinnon, Vice Chair of the Scottish Crofting Association – the organisation hosting the visit – said: “This is a critical time of change for crofting, we are delighted that the Scottish Affairs Committee are making the effort to find out more about the issues facing crofters.

“We look forward to showing them around Lewis and introducing them to some of the fantastic crofters who work the land across the island.”

The Committee’s visit will involve a tour of the island’s local crofts with an exploration of the distinctive characteristics of crofting on the North and South of the island.

Following this the Committee will hold a public meeting in the Stornoway Town Hall to hear directly from Isle of Lewis’ residents about their views on the issues that island communities face today.

The Committee is interested to hear suggestions for how it might feed these concerns into its ongoing and future inquiries. The meeting will begin at 6pm and everyone is welcome to attend.

Local residents can sign up to the town hall event here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/scottish-affairs-committee-visits-sruc-oatridge-campus-tickets-54966600582