Alan Laidlaw confirmed as England’s tenant farming commissioner

Former chief executive of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, Alan Laidlaw, has been confirmed as the first Commissioner for the Tenant Farming Sector in England – fulfilling one of the key recommendations of the 2022 Rock Review.

Key aspects of the new role will be to act as a trusted and impartial point of contact for tenants, landlords and their agents, to ensure fair practice, and to tackle poor behaviour across the sector.

Particular responsibilities will include investigating complaints, tracking trends, offering guidance, and reporting regularly on tenant-landlord relations.

See also: Rock Review sets out improved support for tenant farmers  

Speaking to Farmers Weekly about his new role, Mr Laidlaw, said one of his top priorities will be to promote the Agricultural Landlord and Tenant Code of Practice, as developed by the Farm Tenancy Forum.

“Landlord-tenant relationships are really important to get the best out of agreements,” he said.

“The priority for me is to make sure that isn’t getting in the way of the tenant being able to run their business in the way that they want to do.”

But, while Mr Laidlaw said he wanted to see all parties “live and breathe” the code of practice, he did not believe it had to be written into every agreement.

“A good agreement between landlord and tenant doesn’t need a code. It needs an understanding of what good looks like for both parties,” he said.

Mr Laidlaw acknowledged that his role would not have any statutory powers. But he was satisfied that the formation of the Farm Tenancy Forum following the Rock Review had already made a difference in fostering more “constructive” relationships.

‘Major success’

The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) said the appointment of a commissioner for England marked a “crucial step forward” in achieving better relationships between landlords and tenants.

However, given that the commissioner’s role will be non-statutory, Mr Laidlaw would have his work cut out to improve the conduct of some landlords and, in particular, landlord’s agents, it suggested.

A survey carried out by the TFA last year found that 30% of tenant farmers felt they were being bullied or harassed by their landlords, rising to 37% in the case of landlord’s agents.

“Bullying and harassment at any level in our sector is unacceptable, but sadly the TFA sees this almost as a daily occurrence,” said TFA chief executive George Dunn.

However, Mr Laidlaw said he did not see any particular difference in behaviours between tenants, landowners and their agents.

“I see everybody in the chain as being essential,” he said. “You’re only as strong as your weakest link and if somebody’s not looking after the best interest of the farm, or the business, or the tenanted sector, then that’s the challenge.”

‘Good practice’

Mr Dunn agreed that there are many examples of good practice, but he hoped the new commissioner would find ways of improving the dispute settlement process.

“It is vital that we see arbitration becoming less onerous, less expensive, quicker and more consistent,” he said. “It is a major limitation that individual arbitrators are not permitted to see or use the awards of other arbitrators to assist them in making better awards themselves.”

Mr Laidlaw said his aim was to help deliver a thriving sector, “because if a third of farms are under tenancy, and if the tenanted sector doesn’t thrive, it’s very difficult for the whole agricultural sector to thrive,” he said.