Feum air sgrùdadh farsaing air na buidhnean pblach, le Murray MacLeòid

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Chaidh droch bhreithneachadh a dhanamh air mar a tha Coimisean na Croitearachd ag obrachadh.

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[English-language version below]

à Ach, tha sin ceàrr ann dà dhòigh: tha e dèanamh dì-mheas air cho cudromach ‘sa tha a’ bhuidheann mar riaghladair ann an sgìre farsaing de dh’Alba agus, ‘s dòcha nas cudromaiche, tha e na shamhla air draghan gu mathematics us fharsainge mu bhuidhnean poblachd na dùthcha.

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Every draid has a rent. Chaidh Coimisein na Croitearan a’ stèidheachadh air ais ann 1886 airson coimhead às dèidh siostam ùr a bha a’ cur dìon airson a’ chiad uair air còirichean nan croitear air fairann, às dèidh dhaibh fulang fo bhorbachd is olc nan uachadar

‘S eu-coltach an-diugh ri 150 bliadhna air ais ach tha am prionnsabal fhathast a’ seasamh: tha còirichean nan croitear air an fhearann ​​air an dìon, a’ cuideachadh le bhith cumail sluagh ann coimhearsnachdan agus a’ cuideachadh le bhith cur true air tìr a tha gabhail a-staigh faisg air aon thrian de dh’Alba gu lèir, leis a’ choimisean mar riaghladair.

Ah, chan eil e air a bhith gun dhuilgheadas. An-uiridh thug àrd-neach-sgrùdaidh na h-Alba droch bhreithneachadh air a’ bhuidhinn agus an t-seachdain-sa nochd aithisg bho chomataidh na sgrùdaidh ann am Pàrlamaid na h-Alba a bha cur ri sin, a’ togail air” laigsean ann stiùireadh is rianachd” a bha “aig ìre ris na bu chòir gabhail”.

Aig bunait na cùise tha an càirdeas le Riaghaltas na h-Alba. Thog an aithisg air sgrùdadh eile a chaidh a dhèanamh ann an 2016 agus a thog air “duilgheadasan gu math bunaiteach”. “Tha a’chomataidh mar sin gu math draghail gun tog na duilgheadasan sin ceann a-rithist agus thathas ag iarraidh gealltanas bho gach taobh gun tèid leasanan ionnsachadh”, thuirt an aithisg.

Agus tha seo a’leantainn gu draghan nas fharsaing.

A’ toirt seachad fianais chun chomataidh, dh’fhaighnich an neach-sgrùdaidh “a bheil cothrom ann sùil nas bunaitiche a thirt” air buidhnean poblach agus mar a tha iad ag obrachadh, oir “an àite a bhith coimhead ri buidhnean faleth, tha mi beachdachadh saoil am bu chòir dòighean ùrachadh.”

Thuirt e nach robh an sgaradh ann dleastanasan eadar an coimisean agus Riaghaltas na h-Alba idir oilleir – no ga chur ann an dòigh eile gun robh e duilich dhan choimisean an obair a’ choileanadh agus an riaghaltas a’ gabhail uimhir a’ ghannothach riu.

Nuair a thig e gu buidhnean poblach, tha sinn air seo a chluinntinn ron a seo – tha an aon sheòrsa gearainean a’ cuairteachadh Iomairt na Gàidhealtachd is nan Eilean, mar eisimpleir.

Tha e na chomharra gu bheil cuideigin mar àrd neach-sgrùdaidh na h-Alba, nach eil idir a’ gabhail taobh seach taobh gu poileataigeach, ag iarraidh sgrùdadh nas fharsainge air mar tha an Riaghaltas agus buidhnean pobladh ag obradh.

‘Se seo rud a ghlac aire buill a’ chomataidh cuideachd agus dh’iarr iard air a dhol air adhart agus an rud a mhol e fhèin a choileanadh – an sgrùdadh farsaing a tha seo a chur air dòigh.

Nuair a smaoinicheas tu a’ bhuaidh a tha aig an àireamh mhòr de bhuidhnean air diofar phàirtean de ar beatha, ‘s dòcha gu bheil l à n àm ann cur fon a’ phrosbaig gu math nas motha na tha air a bhith tachairt – ged nach biodh ann ach nach eil e idir ceart dhaibh a bhith ag obair air falbh bho shùil an t-sluaigh.

Fios bhon neich-deasachidh:

Tapa leibh airson aithris and tha seo leughadh. Tha sinn an eismeil ur taic nas motha na bha riamh agus buaidh a’ Choronbhirus air buaidh a thirt air luchd sanasachd. Mur eil sibh air a dhèanamh mar-tha, ma se ur toil, nach beachdaich sibh taic a chumail ri ar obair-naidheachd earbsach, a tha sinn a’ Dearbhadh a tha fìor, le bhith toirt a-mach ballrachd digiteach.

The release of the MSP group’s revealing report on the activities of the Crofting Commission is unlikely to generate a wide public outcry, given that it is likely to be seen as of interest only to a fringe group on the fringes of the country.

However, this would be a mistake on two fronts: it would mean a misunderstanding of the important role that the regulator plays in a large swath of the Scottish countryside, and, perhaps more appropriately, the report relies on how the commission’s concerns reflect broader issues in government sector.

First, a brief history lesson. The Crofter Commission, as it was then, had been set up as early as 1886 to oversee a new and at the time radical system of land tenure, which for the first time gave guaranteed rents to the farmers of the Highlands and Islands after systematic exploitation and brutality by the landowners.

What exists today is of course different from what it was 150 years ago, but the principle remains the same: farms offer secure leases for cultivating the land, helping to keep populations in remote areas and playing a critical role in shaping the region’s landscape, which covers about a third Territories of Scotland with the Commission as the governing body.

But it was not without difficulties. Last year, the Auditor General of Scotland issued a condemning assessment, and this week Holyrood’s Audit Committee further fueled the fire with its own opinion, describing its “weaknesses in leadership and management” as “unacceptable”.

At the core are relations with the Scottish government, or, as the committee put it, “tensions”. The report builds on a previous 2016 review that also “raised significant concerns” and added: “The committee is therefore very concerned that these fundamental issues could recur and ask both organizations for assurance that lessons will be learned.”

And this leads to much wider problems in the game.

In an earlier testimony before the committee, the Auditor General, after investigating the commission’s activities, asked: “Is it possible to do a more fundamental review of how sponsorship arrangements work in Scotland, so instead of focusing on individual organisations, I’m considering the possibility now is the time to freshen up these arrangements.”

He said the “lines of responsibility” between the commission and the Scottish government were “too blurred” – in other words, Edinburgh interfered too much, jeopardizing the commission’s ability to function independently.

When it comes to how quango works, this is by no means an isolated complaint – there are similar concerns with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, for example.

It is highly instructive that the Auditor General, and not a politically inclined person, called for a much broader inquiry into the relationship between the government and the quango on the basis of what he found in the commission.

This, of course, did not escape the members of the State Audit Committee, as in their report they urged the auditor general to act on his own recommendation – a broader assessment of the quango sector. Now we wait with bated breath.

Given the scope of influence of these numerous “non-departmental state bodies” on so many factors that directly affect our lives, it is high time to subject them to a much closer study. Above all, they should not operate out of the public eye.

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