Coronavirus (COVID-19) community resilience in Scotland's islands: research

Introduction

Background to the research

In 2019, Scotland's first National Islands Plan was published. This plan, which was required by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, recognises both the particular challenges faced by Scotland's islands and their value to Scotland as a whole in terms of economic activity, ecological diversity, and, especially, the social capital of island communities. Community resilience - defined by the Scottish Government as 'communities and individuals harnessing resources and expertise to help themselves prepare for, respond to and recover from emergencies' – is a key theme in the Plan.^[1]

The challenges presented by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have prompted extraordinary responses from many communities across Scotland, including the islands. It is this response – and the networks that supported it and stemmed from it – that this research seeks to explore and learn from.

The Scottish Government commissioned Ipsos Scotland, in association with Pollyanna Chapman of Impact Hub Inverness, to produce a series of case studies exploring examples of community resilience in Scotland's islands. The research aims to use the learning from impacts encountered and solutions that have been identified during this pandemic to build the resilience in Scotland's island and mainland communities. More specifically, it aims to:

• produce a series of case studies exploring examples of island community resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic,
• identify key learning points from each case study in order to inform the delivery of the National Islands Plan, and
• recommend how community resilience may be strengthened across the islands and mainland of Scotland.

Methodology

Overview

To achieve these aims, the research team carried out qualitative and desk-based research to identify and produce five case studies that explored community resilience in Scotland's islands. This involved several stages.

Firstly, stakeholder interviews were conducted with a range of organisations to help identify potential case studies across Scotland. Stakeholders included:

• island local authorities
• representatives of Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Scottish Islands Federation
• Foundation Scotland

In parallel to the stakeholder interviews, desk research (involving a review of websites and social media), was carried out to capture as many examples as possible. Examples gathered from stakeholder interviews and desk research were then compiled into a long list of possible case studies from which a shortlist was created. The shortlisting process involved using a range of assessment criteria to identify case studies which reflected the variety of activities and initiatives that island communities undertook in response to the pandemic, including:

• island location (across the six local authorities)
• island size
• funded and non-funded activity (for example, funded through one of a number of specific funds set up in response to COVID-19)
• centrally organised and grassroots efforts
• new and existing networks/groups
• issues being addressed in conjunction with pandemic response (for example, food poverty, waste, fuel poverty, isolation, connectivity)
• whether there was likely to be sufficient detail for a case study.

In discussion with the Scottish Government, a final list of five case studies were identified from the shortlist, reflecting a range of island sizes, locations and experiences.

The five case studies

The five case studies identified for this research were:

• Bressay – an island in the Shetland archipelago with a population of around 360 people, where an existing community interest company adapted to the pandemic and began offering a prescription delivery service for residents.
• Broadford and Strath – in the southern area of the Isle of Skye, where an existing group started deliveries of food and cooked meals to vulnerable people in the community.
• Galson – on the northwest coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Western Isles, where the community land trust instigated a series of measures to ensure there was good communication to and between people who might need support, and a delivery service for prescriptions and crofting supplies.
• Islay – the southernmost of the Inner Hebrides islands off the west coast of Scotland, where several groups (some already established and some formed in response to the pandemic) came together to coordinate support for the island's residents in terms of emergency services and community assistance.
• Sanday – one of the outer Orkney islands, where the existing development trust led a programme of support for people on the island, providing financial support, food, technology and communications, and general wellbeing support.

The location of each case study is summarised in figure 1.1 below.

It is important to remember the context within which these initiatives took place. The experiences of island communities, and indeed communities across Scotland, were heavily impacted and influenced by COVID-19. There was a great deal of uncertainty, especially in the first months of 2020, about how long the pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions would last. The experiences of the islands included in these case studies fluctuated in response to the pandemic as events unfolded and the various impacts were felt.^[2]

For context, a summary of the COVID-19 timeline highlighting the key events in Scotland is shown in figure 1.2 below.

COVID-19 in Scotland: a timeline

2020

March

1 March 2020: First positive case confirmed in Scotland

13 March 2020: First confirmed death in Scotland

18 March 2020: Supporting Communities Fund announced

20 March 2020: Coronavirus Job Retention scheme announced

24 March 2020: First day of 'lockdown'

April

14 April 2020: Helpline set up to provide assistance to high-risk individuals

23 April 2020: COVID-19 Framework for Decision-Making published ^[3]

May

11 May 2020: People can go outside more than once a day for exercise

14 May 2020: 250,000 essential supplies packages sent to those shielding

28 May 2020: Test and Protect rolled out

29 May 2020: Scotland moves to Phase 1 of route map out of lockdown ^[4]

June

19 June 2020: Scotland moves to Phase 2

July

10-15 July 2020: Scotland moves to Phase 3

August

1 August 2020: People no longer advised to shield

23 August 2020: Restrictions on household visits and hospitality

October

9 October 2020: New measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 come into effect

12 October 2020: Applications for Self-Isolation Support grant open

November

2 November 2020: 'Levels' Framework comes into force^[5]

December

8 December 2020: First vaccinations in Scotland

26 December 2020: Scotland moves to Level 4

2021

Jan

5 January 2021: Scotland moves into lockdown. Islands remain in Level 3

29 January 2021: Western Isles moves to Level 4

Feb

18 February 2021: Testing expanded to close contacts

23 February 2021: Updated Strategic Framework published ^[6]

Apr

16 April 2021: Travel within Scotland for outdoor recreation allowed

26 April 2021: Scotland moves to Level 3

26 April 2021: Lateral flow kits available for people without symptoms

May

17 May 2021: Most of mainland Scotland moves to Level 2. Most islands move to Level 1

Jun

5 June 2021: Islands in Level 1 move to Level 0

Jul

19 July 2021: Scotland moves to Level 0

Aug

9 August 2021: Scotland moves beyond Level 0

Nov

29 November 2021: Omicron identified in Scotland

There was a range of funding made available to help communities respond to the pandemic. The funds mentioned in the case studies are listed below (please note this does not represent an exhaustive list of funds used by the islands included in this report):

• Supporting Communities – a Scottish Government fund for community anchor organisations, such as charities, voluntary organisations, community controlled housing associations and social enterprises to help support local responses to the pandemic.^[7] In the Highlands and Islands, the fund was administered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) on behalf of the Scottish Government.
• Communities Recovery Fund – a Scottish Government fund administered by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO). It aimed to support community groups, charities, social enterprises, and voluntary organisations who were supporting people and communities in responding to the challenges presented by COVID-19.^[8]
• Foundation Scotland's Response Recovery and Resilience Fund – Foundation Scotland is a charitable trust which helps people and organisations to fund causes. In partnership with the National Emergencies Trust, Foundation Scotland's Response, Recovery and Resilience Fund launched at the end of March 2020, distributing funds to charities and community groups across Scotland.^[9]
• Co-op COVID-19 Fund – over the summer of 2020, Co-op customers raised £1.5m by buying items from their picnic range, with 20p per item donated to the National Emergencies Trust (NET). NET worked with local Community Foundations to distribute this money to food charities and community causes to fund programmes that provide access to food and sustainable solutions to food poverty.^[10]
• The Prince's Countryside Fund – a charity founded in 2010 by Prince Charles to help support family farms and rural communities.^[11]
• Corra Foundation – The Foundation's aim is to help individuals and communities experiencing disadvantage all across Scotland and in countries around the world.^[12]

Scope and limitations

The aim in qualitative research is not to achieve a sample that is statistically representative of the wider population, but to identify as much diversity of experience as possible. It must therefore be acknowledged that the case studies presented in this report are not intended to be read as an exhaustive summary of the activities undertaken on the islands under study, but an account of the experiences of some island communities based on interviews with some of the individuals closely involved. In cases where the activities involved multiple groups and individuals working together, it was not possible to speak with all involved and not all perspectives were gathered.

Attempts were made to interview beneficiaries (that is, those who availed of the services or activities being organised) via the organisers, using channels such as community newsletters to let people know about the research and invite them to get in touch to share their experiences if they wanted to. However, no responses were obtained and in some cases the organisers felt it was not appropriate to promote the research among this audience given the circumstances (for instance, the financial or emotional challenges being experienced). In some cases, it was possible to include the views of beneficiaries from feedback gathered by organisers or by speaking with volunteers who were closer to those accessing services.

Furthermore, given the range and diversity of responses of communities across Scotland's islands, it would not be possible to give a comprehensive account or represent them all and this report does not seek to do so. The stakeholder interviews and desk research, which took place within a limited timeframe, generated approximately 70 possible examples and highlights the scale of activity. As outlined above, the case studies were selected to illustrate the various ways in which island communities across Scotland have responded to the pandemic.

It was not possible to include a case study for island communities in North Ayrshire, as the short-listed projects we approached to take part from that area either did not respond or were unable to commit to an interview within the timescales of this study. As a result, the activities of the island communities in North Ayrshire (consisting of Arran and the Cumbraes) are not represented in this report. This does not suggest that these islands had less activity, or were any less resilient, than other islands during COVID-19. Indeed, the stakeholder interviews and desk research highlighted a range of community initiatives that took place in North Ayrshire during the pandemic. The lack of case study from that area is therefore due to the practicalities of this study and should not be read as an assessment of the nature of community resilience in North Ayrshire.

The remainder of this report outlines the key themes that emerged from the case studies before presenting each case study in turn.