Sep 28 2013
CABINET SECRETARY WRITES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP TENANTS
SALVESEN RIDDELL RULING – DOES IT AFFECT YOU?
The Scottish Tenant Farmers Association is urging all tenant farmers who are or have been involved in Limited Partnership tenancies to contact the Scottish Government as soon as possible following a letter issued today by the Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead to tenant farmers who may be affected by the recent Salvesen Riddell judgement by the UK Supreme Court.
In his letter the Cabinet Secretary said:
“I am writing to you as a result of the Supreme Court judgement in the Salvesen v Riddell case in April 2013. This is a complex legal case about farming tenancies and only a relatively small number of people may be affected by the ruling.
“Subject to certain limited exceptions, to be in the affected group you would need either to have served or received a dissolution notice for a Limited Partnership between 16 September 2002 and 30 June 2003.
“Unfortunately as we have no official record of who is affected I am taking the unusual step of writing to tenant farmers and landlords who may be involved in Limited Partnerships.
“For those who are affected, the Scottish Government intends to resolve this situation by bringing forward legislation in Parliament to amend the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 2003 during the next parliamentary term; and we are now consulting with both landlords and farming tenants to ensure changes to the legislation are as fair as possible.
“My officials have met with representative bodies including the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association, Scottish Land and Estates, Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, National Farmers Union for Scotland and the Scottish Agricultural Arbiters & Valuers Association.
“However, it is also important that we make direct contact with landlords and tenants who may be affected by the Supreme Court Ruling.
“If you think you may be affected, please let us know by filling in a brief online questionnaire available on our website at:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/limitedpartnerships
or by calling the Limited Partnership team on 03002449847. You can also email the dedicated mail box at limitedpartnerships@scotland.gsi.gov.uk
“This questionnaire is completely confidential, only takes a couple of minutes, and will help ensure the Scottish Government’s proposed legislative changes are as fair as possible. This process will help you understand your position better and allow us to engage directly with you as appropriate.
“Once a legal remedy has been put in place it will be important for you to seek independent legal advice. Your solicitor, Citizen’s Advice Scotland and the organisations mentioned above should be able to help with this.
“Our website will also provide up-to-date information about the action being taken by the Scottish Government.”
STFA welcomes Richard Lochhead’s letter to tenants who may be affected by the Salvesen Riddell decision. STFA has been helping the Scottish Government trace tenants in Limited Partnerships and these people will shortly be receiving a letter from Mr Lochhead. We will be contacting our members directly but it is important that everyone affected is made aware of what happening and how they may be affected and we would encourage them to respond as soon as possible to this call.
STFA can be contacted on 01408 633275 or by email: stfa@tfascotland.org.uk