Changing the International Territorial Level Geography for Scotland: Island Communities Impact Assessment

The proposals potentially impact on island communities in two main ways.

1. Arran and Cumbrae

Aligning boundaries for the Highlands and Island Regions with local authorities impacts on the islands of Arran and Cumbrae. These islands are currently part of the ‘Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh, Arran and Cumbrae, and Argyll and Bute’ ITL3 region, and the ‘Highlands and Islands’ ITL2 region.

Under these proposals, Arran and Cumbrae would become part of the ‘North and East Ayrshire’ ITL3 region, and the ‘Southern Scotland’ ITL2 region. This is because these islands are part of the North Ayrshire local authority.

2. Sub-regional statistics

The proposals group together 6 local authorities into the Highlands and Islands region. Where previously Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands were ITL3 regions in their own right, they are now part of the ‘Highlands and Islands’ ITL3 region.

The purpose of this is to ensure that the region complies with the recommended population thresholds for ITL3 regions. The ITL specification states that ITL3 regions should have a population of between 150,000 and 800,000. This is so that regions are broadly comparable. The populations for these three local authorities are considerably lower than this threshold.