National Islands Plan.

SIF is funded by the Scottish Government and supports the Scottish Government Islands Team by facilitating island community engagement, building knowledge and understanding around island community needs, challenges and aspirations, and feeding into policy and Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAS).

The Islands (Scotland) Act: passed by the Scottish Parliament in 2018, the Act sets out the main objectives and strategy of the Scottish Government in relation to improving outcomes for island communities. A provision within the Act (at section 3), requires the Scottish Ministers to develop a National Islands Plan. On 27 December 2019, Scotland’s first ever National Islands Plan (NIP) was launched, providing a framework for action and 13 Strategic Objectives.

The priorities set out in the NIP were identified through consultation with island communities and stakeholders and included action around population levels, economic development, environment, health and wellbeing, community empowerment, fuel poverty, transport, broadband, education, culture and heritage.  SIF played a vital role in supporting the community consultation, leading to almost 50 island workshops.

Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIA): Another provision of the Islands (Scotland) Act is for all relevant authorities to complete an island community impact assessment (ICIA). Since the Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 came into force, the need to engage directly with island communities to inform policy development has become a legal requirement within Scottish Government and other relevant authorities. Island communities face particular challenges around distance, geography, connectivity and demography, so it is crucial that policy makers consider these properly.

SIF supports policy teams across Scottish Government to undertake targeted community engagement with the people the policies will impact – encouraging the development of high quality ICIAs.

Review of the National Islands Plan: The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 requires a review of the National Islands Plan every five years, and this is currently underway. As part of the review, in 2023 the Scottish Islands Federation supported Scottish Government to undertake a widespread consultation to gather the views of the public and members of island communities in relation to the National Islands Plan. An analysis of the consultation can be found here.

The consultation gave consensus on the need for a new National Islands Plan, and following approval by Ministers, it is the intention to publish a new Plan in 2025.

SIF will continue to support the development of the Scottish Government’s new National Islands Plan by assisting the Islands Team with the organisation of engagement sessions, both in-person and on-line, designed to seek island communities’ views on the content and deliverables of the new document, in line with statutory provisions of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.