Social Security (Cross-border Provision, Case Transfer and Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Regulations 2025: island communities impact assessment

2. Step two – gather your data and identify your stakeholders

Rural Scotland accounts for 98% of the land mass of Scotland and 17% of the population are resident there, according to a document published in 2018.^[2]

At the time of the 2022 Census, Scotland had 93 inhabited islands with a total population of 102,900, accounting for 1.9% of Scotland’s total population.^[3]

The Islands Act identifies six Local Authorities representing island communities in Part 4 of the Act, which are Argyll and Bute Council; Comhairle nan Eilean Siar/Western Isles; Highland Council; North Ayrshire Council; Orkney Islands Council; and Shetland Islands Council. Amongst them, Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles are entirely island authorities, while Highland, Argyll and Bute and North Ayrshire Local Authorities cover island regions as well as mainland regions.

62% of island residents are aged between 16-65 with the median age being 45 which is higher than the average across Scotland as a whole (41).^[5]

We expect only a small minority of people moving to Scotland from the rest of the UK to be in receipt of disability or carers benefits – we are expecting around 260 cross-border clients a month spread across all benefits.^[7]