We will continue to engage with the Scottish Government to ensure they deliver the positive outcomes in the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and National Islands Plan.
As one of the Councils that called for an Islands Act and supported the creation of the Scottish Government’s National Islands Plan, we committed through Our Ambition to engaging positively on their implementation. Over the past three years we have participated as a member of the Scottish Government’s Islands Strategic Group and National Islands Plan Delivery Group which has kept oversight over the Act and the plan. Within the Council, we have introduced Island Communities Impact Assessment guidance for officers and met our statutory reporting requirements on those. Scottish Government civil servants have increasingly reached out to officers, when developing policy and legislation, offering useful opportunities to provide views on potential island impacts.
The Scottish Government recently consulted widely on the review of the National Islands Plan. The Council submitted a formal response and participated in workshops to feed-in views. The new Plan is due to be published before 2025.