Parliament Workbench
Data: Official Report to 12 Nov 2026

Official Report · Committee

New Petitions

Ur Dùthchas (Land Tenure) (PE1297)

Tuesday 15 December 2009 Public Petitions Committee Petitions 6 contributions · 5 speakers

Speakers

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The record

6 contributions
Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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The next new petition is PE1297, by Ranald Alasdair MacDonald of Keppoch, which calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to investigate Scottish land ownership and tenure under the ur dùthchas, or native title, system of land tenure. Background information has been provided. Do members have any comments?

Nigel Don SNP North East Scotland
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I thought that English land law was complicated. It is. I guess that all that we can do is hold up our hands, probably collectively, and say that we have never heard of the issue. Someone might correct me, but I suspect that the issue is new to all members. On that basis, we have to ask the Scottish Government to investigate what is being said and come back with a view.

John Farquhar Munro LD Ross, Skye and Inverness West
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I agree with Nigel Don. The law seems to be a very complicated one from centuries back. We should ask the legal people in the Scottish Parliament to clarify the situation.

Bill Butler Lab Glasgow Anniesland
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We should also ask the Law Society of Scotland to help us out.

John Wilson SNP Central Scotland
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We also need to write to Registers of Scotland and the Scottish Land Court. I also suggest that we write to Andy Wightman, who has written several books on land ownership in Scotland, to ask whether he is aware of the issue that is raised in the petition and whether the law still applies in Scotland today.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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We want information on the subject of the petition in order to find out whether we can respond more effectively to it.

In this meeting

Everything on 15 Dec 2009 →
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  2. Interests Procedure · 3
  3. Current Petitions Petitions · 75
  4. New Petitions Petitions · 81
  5. New Petitions Petitions · 6
  6. New Petitions Petitions · 7
  7. New Petitions Petitions · 14
  8. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  9. Current Petitions Petitions · 5
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