National Islands Plan: Fairer Scotland Duty

Summary of assessment

In accordance with the Fairer Scotland Duty, consideration has been given to the extent to which the National Islands Plan may reduce inequalities of outcome caused by socio-economic disadvantage in Scotland’s island communities. This includes consideration of impacts on people on low incomes, people living in deprived areas or communities of place or interest, people with low or no wealth or who are in debt, and people experiencing material deprivation. Where risks or limitations have been identified, appropriate mitigations and enhancement actions have been considered.

The National Islands Plan recognises that socio-economic disadvantage in island communities is often under-represented in area-based deprivation measures. To mitigate the risk that inequalities remain hidden or under-prioritised, the Plan commits to improving the evidence base through the use of qualitative data, community engagement, and improved analysis of island-specific poverty and cost-of-living pressures. This includes continued consideration of lived experience evidence to inform future policy development and delivery, particularly in relation to households experiencing financial insecurity that may not be visible in national datasets.

The Plan’s strategic objectives seek to address the structural drivers of socio-economic inequality, including connectivity, housing availability, access to services, and local economic opportunities. However, recognising that many of these actions are long-term in nature, mitigations are required to ensure that people experiencing immediate hardship are not adversely affected in the short term. The Plan therefore supports targeted cost-of-living interventions, fuel poverty measures, and improved access to social security as interim mitigations to alleviate financial pressure on low-income and materially deprived households while longer-term structural changes are progressed.

The place-based and community-led approach adopted by the Plan is intended to ensure that actions are responsive to local circumstances and the needs of specific communities of place or interest. To mitigate the risk of uneven outcomes arising from variations in local capacity, the Plan emphasises partnership working and national support for local delivery. This includes sharing good practice, providing guidance, and aligning island-specific actions with wider national programmes to support consistency and equity of impact across island areas.

In relation to people with low or no wealth, or those in debt, the Plan primarily seeks to reduce financial pressures by addressing high essential living costs, particularly fuel, transport and housing. While direct interventions on debt and wealth inequality are limited, this approach is mitigated by actions aimed at improving income security through fair work, skills development, and increased access to employment opportunities. Further mitigation is provided through commitments to improve benefit take-up and reduce barriers to accessing financial support, recognising the additional challenges posed by geographic isolation.

The Plan addresses socio-economic disadvantage linked to social class through actions focused on education, skills, and economic participation. To mitigate the absence of explicit social class analysis, the Plan aligns with national strategies on child poverty, inclusive growth, and fair work, ensuring that island actions contribute to broader efforts to reduce intergenerational and occupational inequalities. Ongoing monitoring of participation and outcomes across different socio-economic groups will be important to ensure that benefits are equitably distributed.

In terms of governance and accountability, the Plan’s implementation is supported by monitoring and reporting arrangements, including the use of indicators aligned with national outcomes frameworks. To mitigate the risk that progress focuses on activity rather than outcomes, there is a commitment to strengthen outcome-focused monitoring where possible, including consideration of impacts on low-income and materially deprived households. This will support ongoing compliance with the Fairer Scotland Duty and enable adjustments to be made where actions are not delivering the intended reductions in inequality.

People experiencing poverty or low incomes generally face poorer physical and mental health outcomes due to financial insecurity, stress, poorer housing and reduced access to services, with these issues often intensified in island communities by higher living costs and geographic isolation. The National Islands Plan has the potential to reduce health inequalities by addressing key social determinants of health, including housing, transport, digital connectivity, employment and access to healthcare, which may improve wellbeing and reduce barriers to services for low-income households. However, benefits may not be evenly distributed unless affordability and accessibility are prioritised. Engagement with people who have lived experience of poverty is essential to ensure that actions are effective, inclusive and contribute to reducing poverty-related health inequalities in island communities.

Overall, while the National Islands Plan does not guarantee uniform reductions in inequalities of outcome across all island communities, the mitigations and enhancement actions outlined above demonstrate due regard to the Fairer Scotland Duty. Through targeted cost-of-living support, improved access to services and opportunities, community-led delivery, and commitments to better evidence and monitoring, the Plan seeks to minimise the risk of adverse impacts and to enhance its contribution to reducing socio-economic inequalities over time. Continued attention to implementation, resourcing and evaluation will be critical to ensuring that these mitigations translate into meaningful improvements for those experiencing the greatest socio-economic disadvantage.

The plan relies on individual policy areas to deliver actions related to the commitments. Many of these polices would be subject to their own consideration for Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment and it is important to note that the overarching, strategic nature of the plan means that the assessment set out in this document does not stop here, but will continue as policies, strategies and services continue to be designed and delivered. Accordingly, this FSD will remain a living document, reviewed alongside the Plan’s annual reporting cycle.