Plans have been unveiled by the Scottish Government which would see all of the country's land registered for the first time.

The move will provide a clear understanding of who owns land in Scotland.

It is understood the Government has asked the Registers of Scotland to prepare to complete Scotland's land register within 10 years and have committed to registering all public land within five years.

Currently, just 26% of the land mass of Scotland is on the Land Register.

The announcement follows a recent publication from the Land Reform Review Group, of which one of their concerns was the limited progress made in the coverage of Scotland's Land Register. It added that the Scottish Government should be doing more to increase the rate of registrations to complete the Land Register, including a target date for completion of the Register, a planned programme to register public lands and additional triggers to induce the first registration of other lands.

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In a statement, Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, said: "We are committed to addressing land reform that will help build a flourishing modern Scotland.

"The Land Reform Review Group made many recommendations which we will consider carefully and we are already acting in many of the these areas. One of their key recommendations was on land registration and I agree with the Group that a fundamental step on this journey must be having a clear understanding of who owns our land in Scotland.

"Along with my colleague Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing, I have asked Registers of Scotland to prepare to complete land registration within 10 years, with all public land registered within five years. There will be a lot of detail to go through, but we look forward to working with stakeholders to make this possible.

This will benefit everyone as land transactions are more difficult and expensive if it's not already on the land register. This is a vital underpinning step in Scotland's land reform journey and will ensure that at last everyone will know who owns Scotland."

(JP/IT)