National Islands Plan: annual report 2021

Implementation and Measurement of the National Islands Plan

Strategic Objective 13 – To support effective implementation of the National Islands Plan

We committed to establish a robust process to ensure the timely publication of a detailed Implementation Route Map setting out clear actions with defined responsibilities for action and timescales to support the delivery of the National Islands Plan.

This commitment has been fulfilled.

Following consultation with local authority colleagues via the Partnership Working Group and Islands Strategic Group, and with island communities and Scottish Government policy colleagues, the National Islands Plan Implementation Route Map was published on 24 March 2021.

The Implementation Route Map details how Scottish Government are delivering our priorities over the lifetime of the National Islands Plan. It is designed to be a living document that will be continually updated and adapted, in recognition of the fact that priorities for island communities can change, enabling it to respond to fresh challenges as they arise.

Whilst the original 2021 iteration of the Route Map gave us a vision for what success would look like when all the commitments in the National Islands Plan were delivered, the 2022 revision has allowed us to take a more forward looking and action focused approach, with specific actions attached to each as yet unfulfilled National Islands Plan commitment, The 2022 Implementation Route Map will be published alongside this Annual Report.

We committed to develop indicators applicable to each Strategic Objective in collaboration with Scottish Government agencies, local authorities, island communities and relevant island socio-economic actors based on the SMART criteria and building on the National Performance Framework and Sustainable Development Goals.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

Research continues to be undertaken to gather relevant islands data in order to set the baselines for our measurable outcomes. Additionally, work remains ongoing to develop a consistent and replicable approach to utilising data from multiple sources to estimate an island's "share" of a data zone.

We are currently forming a Research Working Group to ensure that relevant data from our systems of measurement is captured and informs the monitoring of the National Islands Plan. This will include working in collaboration with our policy colleagues across Scottish Government, our local authority partners and island community stakeholders to identify pre-existing island statistics to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort. Additionally, we will shortly launch a virtual National Islands Plan Progress Dashboard that will allow for real-time progress towards both our Strategic Objectives and commitments to be displayed in an accessible and transparent manner.

Published research to date includes the National Islands Plan Survey report and its accompanying interactive tool. Further research has been carried on the results of the survey, with the intention to commission another survey at the end of 2022 to allow comparative analysis to be undertaken.

We committed to host a series of island-based focus groups workshops, to discuss and agree the specific actions linked to each of the 13 Strategic Objectives in the Plan.

This commitment has been fulfilled. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2020 for further details.

We committed to review the availability, usefulness of, and the wider barriers to, island level data both at an individual island level, groups of islands and consider the creation of a "Scottish Islands" data level in order to better understand the challenges faced by island communities.

This commitment has been fulfilled. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2020 for further details.

SDS have provided in-depth skills assessment data for Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Eilean Siar to assist skills planning in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. SDS has also provided skills assessment to support the development of the Islands Growth Deal.

We committed to create a Young Islanders Network constituted by young people from all Scottish islands that will have a consultative role in the implementation of the National Islands Plan to ensure that the delivery of the Plan fully considers the interests and priorities of young people.

This commitment has been fulfilled. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2020 for further details.

The National Islands Plan commits us to "Create a Young Islanders Network constituted by young people from all Scottish islands that will have a consultative role in the implementation of the National Islands Plan to ensure that the delivery of the Plan fully considers the interests and priorities of young people".

SG is continuing to support the emergence of a new Network to provide children and young people from across all of Scotland's islands with the opportunity to participate and have their say in the delivery of the National Islands Plan (NIP).

A key commitment in the NIP is that young people from all our islands will have a consultative role in the implementation of the Plan. Therefore, the development and delivery of a Young Islanders Network (YIN) is critical to the delivery of our NIP.

Delivery partner, Youth Scotland are supporting the project, while the YIN will be co-created and led by our young islanders, ensuring that the interests and priorities of this cohort are carefully considered and reflected in the development of this new forum.

The YIN is not intended to supersede or replace any existing youth organisations and networks already operating in our island communities. Its role will be to help build on these and facilitate engagement and collaboration across our islands. Youth Scotland have engaged with partners at local islands and national levels to identify a pathway that ensures that the YIN will be most productive and effective and to avoid any gaps or duplications.

The YIN continues to work alongside the Message in a Bottle project led by Strathclyde University that included Young Islanders. The project featured heavily at COP26 with four events over the two weeks of the conference.

Youth Scotland's island-based YIN lead will build on the success of the YIN pilot and is responsible for coordinating the development and delivery of the YIN. Youth Scotland are currently working with their Anchor organisations in each local authority with inhabited islands to build a network of Young Island Champions and Participants. The next stage for the YIN will be to work with the Young Island Champions to develop the YIN Implementation Plan and to include the Young Islanders in planning and preparations for the YIN launch – which is scheduled to take place in spring 2022.

We committed to establish a National Islands Plan Governance Group to ensure close monitoring of the Implementation Route Map. This group will oversee the delivery of the National Islands Plan and feedback on progress to the Islands Strategic Group and other interested parties.

This commitment has been fulfilled. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2020 for further details.

The National Islands Plan Delivery Group was established in June 2021. It supports implementation of the National Islands Plan and ensures that work is driven forward in a collaborative way that truly involves island communities. The Group stems from Strategic Objective 13 of the National Islands Plan and from the Scottish Government's commitment to establish a group to closely monitor the delivery of the Plan.

Delivering a fair, integrated, green and inclusive plan requires strong collaboration and partnership and the Delivery Group provides this collaborative working space.

Membership

Membership of the group brings together representatives from island communities, local government, the third and independent sectors, community groups, relevant academics and Scottish Government officials:

• Argyll and Bute Council
• Bord na Gaidhlig
• Calmac Community Board
• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
• COSLA
• Development Trusts Association Scotland
• Federation of Small Businesses
• Highland Council
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise
• Inspiring Scotland
• Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland
• North Ayrshire Council
• Orkney Islands Council
• Scottish Futures Trust
• Scottish Government
• Scottish Islands Federation
• Shetland Islands Council
• Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance
• University of the Highlands and Islands

The group meets regularly to examine progress and help identify critical priorities in order to work towards meeting the commitments within the National Islands Plan.

The Delivery Group also holds a key role in reviewing the Implementation Route Map on a quarterly basis, including offering guidance on any significant issues which would require changes to be made and ensuring the proposed actions are genuinely delivering on their associated commitments.

We committed to work with island communities to ensure that the Plan is widely promoted and understood by all sectors of society.

Work is ongoing in relation to this commitment.

The implementation of the National Islands Plan continues to be supported by both the Islands Strategic Group and the National Islands Plan Delivery Group. The Islands Strategic Group was established to ensure greater involvement of the relevant councils in helping design solutions to the challenges islanders face, whilst the Delivery Group ensures that work is driven forward in a collaborative way that truly involves island communities.

The Islands Strategic Group (ISG)

The ISG was established in 2016 to consider issues affecting the inhabited island communities of Scotland, and to ensure greater involvement of the relevant councils in helping identify and design solutions to the unique needs and challenges these communities face. Membership of this group comprises the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Council Leaders and Chief Executives across all Local Authorities with islands.