National Islands Plan Annual Report 2025

Empowered Island Communities and Strong Local Partnerships

Strategic Objective 10 – Empower diverse communities and different places

Commitment 10.1 Take forward the Local Governance Review with COSLA in order to create a system of local democracy that will be inclusive and improve people’s lives.

The Programme for Government 2025-26 confirmed our commitment to concluding the Local Governance Review in partnership with COSLA by the end of this parliament. This work is central to Scotland’s Public Service Reform agenda, ensuring decisions are taken as close as possible to the communities they affect. We continue to make progress through the Democracy Matters process and by advancing the development of Single Authority Models (SAMs).

SAMs are being developed with partners in Orkney, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Argyll and Bute. They aim to strengthen and streamline local governance, deliver greater efficiencies, unlock the shift to prevention and support a step change in community empowerment. All final draft SAM options were submitted to the Scottish Government by January 2025. The Scottish Government will work closely with local government and health partners to agree next steps for model development and stakeholder engagement.

Ministers welcome the strong local interest and have allocated £900,000 of ‘Invest to Save’ funding to support locally led SAM developments. These proposals will take a human rights-based approach with extensive engagement from a variety of stakeholders including staff, service users, local communities and trade unions.

Learning from these pilots will inform future governance, helping to improve outcomes for people across Scotland while addressing the unique demographic and geographic challenges of island settings.

The Democracy Matters national conversation asked people to help shape the future of community level decision-making. As set out in this year’s Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will publish a blueprint for community decision-making by the end of this parliament which will help to shape a different democratic future where communities are further empowered to take more decisions for themselves.

Models will take a human rights-based approach and provide more opportunities for everyone to participate in the decisions that matter the most to them. Essential legislation required for implementation will be introduced early in the next parliament.

Commitment 10.2 Support participatory processes aimed at providing island communities with a strong voice in the implementation of the Plan.

The Scottish Government has continued to support Participatory Budgeting (PB) through the National PB Support Programme. PB enables local people to have a direct say on how public money is spent and can empower communities to take forward their own ambitions. This programme is delivered in partnership with local authorities, communities and third sector organisation, and supports PB across a range of policy areas including health and wellbeing, climate change and education.

We will continue to fund COSLA and the Scottish Community Development Centre (SCDC) to provide resources, support and advice to local authorities and communities to carry out PB exercises.

We will also continue to work with COSLA to support all local authorities reach the target of having at least 1% of their budget subject to participatory processes, giving thousands of people a direct say in how over £100 million will be spent.

Commitment 10.3 Explore ways to strengthen the voice of island communities whilst capturing the differences between islands in local and national decision-making.

Community Empowerment Act (2015) update and review

A review of parts of the Community Empowerment Act was conducted between 2022 and 2024. This followed commitments in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 Programme for Government publications to conduct a review, explore if the legislation was doing what it set out to do, and if any changes were required.

The review had a particular focus on community ownership and strengthening local decision-making and forms part of the wider public service reform programme in Scotland. Three reports were published in March 2025 concerning the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015:

• part 3 participation requests: findings report review;
• part 5 asset transfer: findings report review; and the
• update and findings report.

The review found that the legislation has helped to make significant progress in supporting the empowerment of communities across Scotland, including island communities. Additionally, the review noted that to support further community empowerment and prioritise prevention, further work is required to maximise the potential of the legislation. The Scottish Government is working with our partners, public authorities and communities to take forward these findings and ensure that the legislation remains fit for purpose and current.

Commitment 10.4 Work with island communities and local authority partners in the development and introduction of a Transient Visitor Levy Bill.

Commitment fulfilled.

This commitment was fulfilled in 2023. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2023 for further details.

Commitment 10.5 Explore ways in which to empower and support island communities to enhance their resilience by developing local initiatives and plans in partnership with Scotland’s Emergency Responder organisations.

The Civil Contingencies Division’s Liaison Team acts as a link between responders and government during incident responses. In addition, when requested, the Team support preparedness by visiting islands to deliver crisis management workshops with key partners such as local authority Resilience Officers and Police Emergency Planning Officers.

The team has recently delivered workshops in Kirkwall, Stornoway, Islay, Tiree and Arran to support development and review of local island plans.

Commitment 10.6 Introduce regulations which enable island local authorities, in consultation with their communities, to request that Scottish Ministers promote legislation devolving a function to them, or that the Scottish Ministers transfer an additional function, duty or responsibility to them. These regulations acknowledge the uniqueness of each of our island communities and that one size does not always fit all.

Commitment fulfilled.

This commitment was fulfilled in 2020. Please see the National Islands Plan Annual Report 2020 for further details.

Commitment 10.7 Ensure that policies and plans relating to the Scottish Crown Estate are appropriately island proofed and that any manager of a Scottish Crown Estate asset supports implementation of the National Islands Plan as appropriate.

Crown Estate Scotland is currently the sole manager of Scottish Crown Estate Assets. In discharging this role, Crown Estate Scotland ensures that policy and projects are tested through Island Communities Impact Assessments whenever appropriate.

Following an extension to the current Corporate Plan, Crown Estate Scotland carried out a public consultation on its new five year Corporate Plan in the summer and are carrying out an analysis of the responses. Crown Estate Scotland is preparing to launch the new Corporate Plan in 2026.

Commitment 10.8 Ensure that Gaelic speakers in island communities are encouraged and supported to represent themselves through the medium of Gaelic.

The Scottish Government works towards the strategic goals of Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s National Gaelic Language Plan.

Within our own corporate Gaelic Language Plan we are committed to engaging with Gaelic-speakers in Gaelic. The Scottish Languages Act 2025 has built on this by giving Gaelic official status as a language of Scotland. Other measures within the Act, such as the strengthening of Gaelic education and the introduction of a ministerial Gaelic Language Strategy, will further work towards improving the representation of Gaelic-speakers in public life.

HM Inspectors of Education

His Majesty’s (HM) Inspectors provide evaluations and reports through the medium of Gaelic and welcome communications in Gaelic. HM Inspectorate of Education in Scotland (HMIE)’s branding is available in both Gaelic and English, which ensures Gaelic is highly visible across a range of communications.

HMIE deploy specialist HM Inspectors to inspect Gaelic Medium Education. These specialist inspectors have qualifications and expertise in Gaelic language and are fluent linguists. HM Inspectors engage regularly with stakeholders in island communities, in Gaelic, with children, young people, teachers and partners. Most recently these engagements have enabled the gathering of views to shape the future of inspection.