Bringing Hope, Building Futures: Tackling child poverty delivery plan 2026-2031 – annex 10: Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)

Step four - assessment

From assessment of national data, existing academic research and views of relevant stakeholders gathered through targeted engagement, we can conclude that, whilst it is not a unique island phenomenon, there are particular factors which contribute to child poverty in island communities.

Issues such as cost of living, distance from employment opportunities and key services, and stigma attached to uptake of social security pose additional island specific barriers.

Through ongoing policy and action, mitigation is already in place for certain issues that have specific impacts on island communities. For others, particularly those which are newly proposed for this delivery plan, further mitigation may be needed and will be identified through policy specific ICIAs.

Is a full Island Communities Impact Assessment required?

Evidence suggests that island communities have specific circumstance and needs in terms of the action needed to tackle child poverty in their areas.

Whilst some policies contained within the delivery plan already have a completed ICIA, this is not the case for all interventions, in particular those still under development. Individual policy areas will need to undertake ICIAs to ensure that impact on island communities is taken into account during the development and implementation of their policy.

The evidence suggests that, in general, levels of child poverty are lower on islands. However, additional research and consultation has shown that there is still are still specific drivers of child poverty in island communities, such as higher costs of living in many islands and difficult in accessing good quality employment. Many of the policy proposals to tackle child poverty may require modification to maximise operational outcomes in an island context.

Yes - a full Island Communities Impact Assessment is required.