The Committee of Inquiry on Crofting announced in April 2007 comprised a retained Chair plus eight voluntary members, as follows:
Professor Mark Shucksmith (Chair)
Professor Mark Shucksmith is Professor of Planning at Newcastle University, and was until recently Professor of Land Economy and Co-Director of the Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research, University of Aberdeen, and Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Research on Social Justice.
He is a Board Member of England's Countryside Agency from 1st April 2005 (Commission for Rural Communities from 1st October 2006) and was a member of the Government's Affordable Rural Housing Commission. Professor Shucksmith was elected First Vice-President of the International Rural Sociological Association for 2004-08, and was Programme Chair for the XI World Rural Sociology Congress in Norway in 2004. He is Adviser to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on rural issues, and was Secretary to JRF's Rural Housing Policy Forum. He is also Visiting Professor at the Centre for Rural Research, University of Trondheim, Norway.
He has recently coordinated four EU research projects, The Territorial Impact of the CAP and Rural Development Policy (ESPON); Policies and Young People in Rural Development (FP5); the Rural Development Transfer Network (Northern Periphery Programme); and Restructuring in Marginal Rural Areas - The Role of Social Capital in Rural Development (FP5). A new report on Quality of Life: Urban-Rural Differences across the enlarged EU will shortly be published by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions.
He has been adviser to the Environment & Rural Development Committee of the Scottish Parliament, a member of the English National Selection Committee for LEADER+, and is a member of SEERAD's Strategic Science Advisory Panel.
The post of Chairman is part time and attracts remuneration of up to £50,076 per annum (£321 per day for an average time commitment of 3 days per week), which is to be paid to the University of Newcastle to allow Professor Shucksmith's release from his normal duties.
Jane Brown
Jane Brown is a crofter in Shetland. She also has a consultancy business which supports crofters and farmers in Shetland by acting as their agent. The business specialises in all aspects of crofting administration and support schemes. Her previous career was in rural community work.
Fred Edwards LVO
Fred Edwards, the President of Scottish Environment Link served on the board of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) from 2000 - 2006. Mr. Edwards, a Chartered Environmentalist, lives in the Lothians and is a full time voluntary worker with a special personal interest in the environment. He is widely involved in a range of organisations involving international development, ecological, conservation, and social justice matters. He is a board member of Friends of the Earth Scotland and a Trustee of New Lanark. He has experience in industry and of rural island and urban areas gained from his time in public sector work as a social work director.
Professor James Hunter
Professor James Hunter is director of the UHI Centre for History. He was the first director of the Scottish Crofters Union (now the Scottish Crofting Foundation) and has written extensively on crofting matters. From 1998 until 2004 he chaired the board of Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Professor Hunter was a member of the Committee until the end of May 2007.
Susan Lamont
Susan Lamont is employed by NFU Scotland as a part time Group Secretary for Tiree and is an agent for NFU Mutual Insurance. She is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons and is married to a full time crofter.
Norman A MacDonald
Norman MacDonald has worked with many organisations throughout the Western Isles as a volunteer, full-time community worker, and as a Councillor with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar since 1997. He has considerable experience of strategic and project planning and financial management, and was a Director of Western Isles Enterprise from 1998-2004. He is a fluent Gaelic speaker, and has been the Chairman of the Gaelic Language and Culture Forum, and a Director of the European Bureau of Lesser Used Languages since 2003. Since joining the Comhairle in 1997 he has held a number of positions including Vice-Chair of Environmental Services, Vice Chair of Policy and Resources and Chair of Transportation.
Professor Donald MacRae, FRSE
Professor MacRae is the Strategy and Finance Director for Lloyds TSB Scotland and Visiting Professor of Business and Economic Development in Abertay's Dundee Business School since 2000. He joined Lloyds TSB Scotland in 1986 following posts with ICI and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is the author of Lloyds TSB's Scotland Business Monitor, which surveys the Scottish economy on a quarterly basis. He is also a board member of Scottish Enterprise and a member of the Scottish Executive Economic Statistics and Scottish Executive Economists Advisory Group. He is a past chairman of the Business Forum Scotland, a past board member of Scottish Homes, and a trustee of the David Hume Institute
Agnes Rennie, MBE
Agnes Rennie lives with her family on her croft at South Galson on Lewis and is a native Gaelic speaker. She is self employed and is a consultant in rural development as well as working her croft. Mrs Rennie has recently been elected as a Councillor with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. and was formerly a member of the Crofters Commission. She is a Justice of the Peace and a past chair of Iomairt nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Enterprise). Agnes is also vice chair of Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn (UOG), which is the new community owner of the 56,000 acre Galson estate.
Becky Shaw
Becky Shaw grew up on a hill farm on the Isle of Bute and is the Land Use Programme Manager with the Scottish Crofting Foundation. She works from her home in Golspie, Sutherland.