Crown Estate

26/07/2012

I would also urge the UK Government to rethink its refusal to devolve the management of Scotland’s coast and seabed from the UK Crown Estate to the Scottish Government, with further devolution to community level.

Currently, the Crown Estate manages around 50% of our coast and most of our seabed, with surplus revenues paid to the Westminster Treasury. The Westminster-appointed Scottish Affairs Committee has produced a highly critical report on the Crown Estate’s management, which it says lacks accountability, transparency and public consultation. Local communities claim the Crown Estate acts like an “absentee landlord” and “tax collector”. Read more of this post

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S4M-03653: Crown Estate Marine Assets Must be Devolved

20/07/2012

That the Parliament calls on the UK Government to reconsider what is seen as its refusal to commit fully to the recommendations of the Scottish Affairs Committee, which has called for the management of Scotland’s coast and seabed to be devolved from the Crown Estate to the Scottish Government, with further devolution at community level; understands that the Crown Estate currently manages around 50% of Scotland’s coast and most of its seabed; expresses considerable alarm at what it considers to be the highly critical nature of the Scottish Affairs Committee’s report, which concludes that the Crown Estate lacks accountability, transparency and public consultation and which records claims by some local communities that the Crown Estate acts like an absentee landlord and tax collector; notes that the committee’s chairman has stated that “the Crown Estate has raised millions more pounds from its assets in Scotland than it invested back into coastal areas”, and strongly believes that Scotland’s marine assets should not be under the control of an unelected body lacking in accountability to local communities.

Supported by: Richard Lyle, Mike Mackenzie

Date Lodged: 17/07/12

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