National Islands Plan: annual report 2021

Island Communities Impact Assessments

As stipulated by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the Island Communities Impact Assessments (Publication and Review of Decisions) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 came into force on 23 December 2020, meaning that the duty to carry out an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) became a legal requirement for Scottish Government and relevant authorities when developing or reviewing policies, strategies or services.

The laying of these Regulations followed consultation with island communities, relevant authorities and local government partners on the proposed ICIA Guidance and Toolkit, which was published alongside the Regulations on the 23 of December 2020. This can be found online at: Island Communities Impact Assessments: guidance and toolkit - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

During the first year of the regulations coming into force, we have supported Scottish Government and relevant authority colleagues in producing ICIAs. Throughout this period, we have taken into consideration feedback from relevant authorities and local government partners, which has lead us to review the guidance. We will shortly publish an updated document, support leaflet and an accompanying educational video on the ICIA process to further support those undertaking ICIAs.

ICIAs Scottish Government have carried out to date can be found in the publications section of the Scottish Government website here: Publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). ICIAs completed by relevant authorities are published by them, usually on their websites, where they are also required to complete annual reporting setting out how they have complied with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 during the reporting period.

We will continue to support our colleagues across the Scottish Government as well as the relevant authorities in implementing the ICIA process. Our work so far and the feedback received will also be considered during the first report on the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which is due to be completed this year.