Whether it plans to changes the rights of succession to allow grandchildren to succeed grandparents into farming tenancies.

The Scottish Government published a consultation paper on 22 March 2011 with a draft Bill which would amend the definition of “near relatives” in the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1991 to include grandchildren.
Where a tenant farmer dies and his tenancy passes by succession, a landlord is entitled to serve a notice to quit on the successor tenant. A landlord can serve an incontestable notice to quit on any successor as tenant if they are not a "near relative" of the deceased tenant. Where the successor tenant is a "near relative" of the deceased tenant, that person is entitled to give the landlord a counter notice requiring that the Land Court consents to operation of the notice to quit. In other words, "near relatives" enjoy a degree of protection that other successors do not.
The Scottish Government considers that the class of persons entitled to this degree of statutory protection should be widened to include a grandchild. It is therefore proposed to achieve this through extending the definition of "near relative" to include "grandchild" within the list of relatives of a deceased tenant who are entitled to give a landlord counter notice requiring the Land Court to consent to the operation of a notice to quit.
The consultation is due to close on 30 June 2011.