National Care Service Charter of Rights: Island Communities impact assessment

Step Four - Assessment

4.1 Unique impacts

The NCS Charter of Rights applies nationally and does not introduce any new rights or standards that do not already exist, nor does it alter any existing rights or standards.

The evidence from engagement does not identify any unique impacts or concerns for island communities. The concerns identified by island communities have also been raised by other population groups and stakeholders.

4.2 Potential barriers or wider impacts

The assessment identifies the following wider impacts:

Demographic

Data indicates that the Charter will be relevant to island communities, where average age is slightly higher and there are slightly more people aged over 65 than the Scottish average. The data also suggests that overall use of social care support is higher than the Scottish average, with some variation between the islands. However for some specific types of support, some island communities have a higher rate of use whereas others have a lower rate of use than the Scottish average.

Access to support

Engagement with people from island communities identified concerns that people may not be able to access their rights due to high levels of pressure particularly related to the availability of social care support. The Charter may therefore raise awareness of existing rights and expectations which cannot be met. This concern is not unique to island communities, however it may have greater significance in island settings where workforce pressures can be more pronounced.

Digital inclusion

Digital connectivity has improved for island communities in recent years, however for some communities especially those further away from the mainland, this remains an issue. This could impact on people’s ability to access the Charter.

Gaelic language

Some people may prefer to access the Charter in Gaelic.

4.3 Mitigations in place

Mitigations in place for these impacts include:

Digital inclusion

To mitigate the risk of digital exclusion, the Charter has been published in a range of accessible formats. Printed versions of both the full Charter and the summary version are available and can be distributed to stakeholders and individuals on request, ensuring that people living in island communities are not required to access the Charter online. During the implementation of the Charter, we will consider how to prioritise distribution of physical copies to areas where this is more likely to be required.

Gaelic language

Gaelic translations of both the full Charter and the summary version have been produced, ensuring that Gaelic speakers are able to access the content of the Charter in their preferred language.

Concerns about raising excessive or unjustified expectations

To avoid raising expectations, the Charter makes it clear that its purpose is to help people better understand their existing rights and what they should expect from their care, not to introduce additional rights or raise expectations that are not already located in accepted standards such as the Health and Social Care Standards.

Through implementation and ongoing monitoring within island communities, we will gather feedback to assess whether this information is clear and accessible. This will help us understand how the Charter works in practice and identify whether any further action is needed to better support island communities to access their rights and achieve standards.

Barriers to accessing care and support

Factors relating to service pressures are operational challenges rather than impacts created by the Charter itself. However to acknowledge the experiences faced by people living in island communities, the Charter includes a section that highlights some of the potential barriers to care for people living in rural settings. This section was drafted to respond to points raised through island community groups. The Charter cannot directly address these barriers, however this inclusion intends to show awareness of how experiences of care can vary across Scotland.

4.4 Conclusion and recommendation

The Charter does not create any disadvantage for island communities compared to the mainland or between island groups. It sets out national rights and expectations in a way that does not uniquely affect island areas, and stakeholder engagement identified no island-specific issues. On this basis, we recommend that a full Island Communities Impact Assessment is not required.

No further ICIA action is required at this stage.

Sign-off

Screening ICIA completed by Catherine Evans

Position Team Leader

Signature and date 14/04/26

ICIA authorised by Gareth Brown

Position Deputy Director

Signature and date 27/04/2026