Rural Affairs and Islands Committee
National islands plan
Part 2 of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 states that Scottish Ministers must lay before Parliament a national islands plan, which is subject to review every five years.
Read the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018
The plan is “to set out the main objectives and strategy of the Scottish Ministers in relation to improving outcomes for island communities that result from, or are contributed to by, the carrying out of functions of a public nature”.
The national islands plan was published and laid before the Scottish Parliament on 27 December 2019. It sets out 13 strategic objectives and over 100 commitments which must be delivered over the five-year lifetime of the plan.
Read the national islands plan
National islands plan annual report
A report must be presented to the Parliament each year setting out what progress has been made.
National islands plan implementation route map
The Scottish Government also committed to publishing an implementation route map that addresses each of the 13 strategic objectives and accompanying commitments.
Read the national islands plan: implementation route map 2022, published on 26 September 2022
Report on the operation of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018
Within four years of receiving Royal Assent on the Act, Scottish Ministers must publish a report on the operation of the Act. The report was published on 5 July 2022 and covers all the provisions of the Islands Act, whereas the annual report relates solely to the islands plan.
Read the report on the implementation of the 2018 Act, published on 5 July 2023
Committee consideration
The Committee’s consideration of the 2018 Act has included—
- taking evidence on the national islands plan at the start of the session from a broad range of island stakeholders and representatives in a roundtable discussion covering the key issues facing island communities
- taking evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands and Scottish Government officials on the 2021 annual report
- focusing its 2023-24 pre-budget scrutiny around the Scottish Government’s spending commitments to support the implementation of the Islands Act and the Islands Plan
Further information on the Committee’s 2023-24 pre-budget scrutiny
- taking evidence from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands and Scottish Government officials on the 2022 annual report