National Islands Plan Annual Report 2025

Arts, Culture and Language

Strategic Objective 11 – Support arts, culture and language

Commitment 11.1 Invest in our cultural and historic resources, to ensure that islanders are encouraged to engage with, and participate in, arts and culture.

In May 2025, the Scottish Government announced that £500,000 from Gaelic Capital Fund had been awarded to Regional Screen Scotland, enabling it to order a new Screen Machine mobile cinema which will serve 44 rural and island locations. Fundraising for the total £1.49 million required for the project is now complete, and delivery of the new Machine is expected in summer 2026.

Creative Scotland

The Scottish Government provided an additional £20 million to Creative Scotland for its Multi Year Funding programme, meaning that they will receive a total of £54 million in 2025-26.

The Scottish Government will also provide a further £20 million in 2026-27, taking the total budget to £74 million. This will ensure that more people have access to cultural projects which can benefit their health and wellbeing as well as bringing enjoyment.

In 2025-26, a record total of 251 cultural organisations are now receiving multi-year funding. This includes 12 organisations based on islands, which will receive a combined total of over £8.6 million up to 2027-28. These organisations are based in Highland (3), Na h-Eileanan Siar (4), Orkney (2) and Shetland (3).

Historic Environment Scotland

The Scottish Government delivers support for the Historic Environment through sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) – the lead public body for the protection and preservation of historic sites in mainland Scotland and on the islands.

HES has funded various projects on Scotland’s islands including in relation to thatching, archaeology, building repairs and outreach as well as digital interpretation.

In 2024-25, 11 grants totalling £893,437 were awarded to projects in Argyll and Bute, Na h-Eileanan Siar and Orkney, whilst 5 grants were awarded to projects in Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney and Shetland.

Commitment 11.2 Support, develop and promote the creative talents of islanders, and ensure that the culture of Scotland’s islands has a wide audience both nationally and abroad.

The Scottish Government recognises that the Culture and Creative Industries (CCI) are a key growth sector for Scotland.

Across Scotland, the CCI sector relies largely on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), a pattern that is even more pronounced within the Highlands and islands region. The sector also includes a significant number of freelance workers, many of whom operate below the VAT threshold or as working owners not paid through PAYE. As a result, official statistics are likely to undercount the true workforce. Overall, CCI activity in island areas is largely driven by micro-businesses and freelancers, whose contribution is vital to island communities and to the wider Scottish economy.

The Scottish Government Fair Work policy aims to improve the working lives of all people in Scotland and boost economic growth. In addition, Scottish Ministers commissioned an independent report on ensuring Fair Work within the culture sector, which was received from the independent Culture Fair Work Task Force on 5 December 2025.

The report detailed 16 recommendations to ensure fair and inclusive work practices within the Scottish culture and creative industries. Scottish Ministers will consider them alongside those provided by reports such as the Creative Scotland Review and will update Parliament in due course.

Screen Scotland

Screen Scotland, the national body for supporting the screen sector, funds a range of projects which reflect the diversity of Scottish culture and creative talent. High profile projects from 2025 include £500,000 through the Broadcast Content Fund to support the ambitious Gaelic language television drama ‘An t-Eilean’ enabling the series to film on location on the Isle of Lewis, as well as £500,000 through the Film Development and Production Fund to support the BAFTA-nominated adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s best-selling memoir ‘The Outrun’ which is set partly in Orkney.

Commitment 11.3 Support all of Scotland’s indigenous languages and dialects in ways that are relevant to the communities where these are spoken.

The Scottish Languages Act became law and received Royal Assent in the summer of 2025, giving Scots and Gaelic official status in Scotland for the first time. The legislation builds on the advancement achieved by the speaker communities in recent years. Official status for Scots recognises and supports indigenous language and dialect use for island communities in both Shetland and Orkney.

Teachers in Shetland, Orkney and Na h-Eilean Siar have been studying through the Scottish Government funded Professional Learning Course ‘Scots Language and Culture’. This is delivered in partnership with the Open University and Education Scotland who are key voices in the Curriculum Improvement Cycle focus on Scots language.

Scots language work in island communities featured prominently at the Scots Education Celebration held in September 2025. Island-based community groups such as Shetland For Wirds were praised for their contribution to supporting indigenous language use within education.

In the arts, Claire White and Robbie Leask were funded by Creative Scotland (via Hands Up for Trad) for the multi-media concert ‘Da She in Shetland’ which was held as part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in October 2025 to bring Shetland stories and voices to national and international audiences in Edinburgh.

The Gaelic Capital Fund has supported public and commercial spaces dedicated to the use of Gaelic including An Taigh Cèilidh in Stornoway and Comann Eachdraidh Uibhist a Tuath in North Uist. This is in addition to our continued support and funding of institutions like Sabhal Mòr Ostaig in Skye and Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle in Islay as well as services like Stòrlann, eSgoil, and MG ALBA.

Commitment 11.4 Ensure that the commitments in this plan are informed by and aligned with the commitments in the National Gaelic Language Plan, working closely with Bòrd na Gàidhlig.

The commitments in the National Islands Plan were developed with reference to the Scottish Government’s Gaelic Language Plan which ensures that the work of the Scottish Government aligns with, and fulfils, the commitments in both Plans.

Commitment 11.5 Ensure that the effect on Gaelic language development is considered from the outset in island-specific policies and initiatives and that these link to statutory Gaelic language plans.

The Scottish Government’s Gaelic Language Plan requires policy areas to assess the potential impact of their work on the language. There is regular contact between the Islands Policy Unit and the Gaelic and Scots Division to consider the linguistic dimensions of islands policy. This is also true for other areas of government which have a distinct bearing upon Gaelic-speaking island communities. There is also an expectation that teams preparing island-related policies contact Bòrd na Gàidhlig and other Gaelic related stakeholders for input.

The Scottish Government places particular significance upon publishing island related material in Gaelic – especially consultation papers.

Commitment 11.6 Work with public authorities and community groups in increasing the use and visibility of Gaelic in Gaelic speaking island communities.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council across a range of Gaelic-related fora. Work pursued here contributes to increasing the use and visibility of Gaelic in education, broadcasting, community development and public planning. We also continue to sponsor Ainmean-àite na h-Alba as the authority on Gaelic placenames and direct organisations towards them for advice on signage and other linguistic infrastructure. Through the Tog action group, the Scottish Government engages with the aforementioned local authorities to consider how the use and visibility of the language could be increased in island communities.

Commitment 11.7 Work with relevant authorities to improve Gaelic provision for Gaelic speaking island communities in delivering their functions and services.

The Scottish Government continues to support Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, The Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council in their provision of Gaelic education, engaging through a range of fora, and other education authorities, to support Gaelic learning in island communities.

The Gaelic planning system, overseen by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, constitutes one of the key frameworks through which the Scottish Government engages with Gaelic-speaking island communities. Through the implementation of the Gaelic Language Plan, the Scottish Government works towards the strategic goals outlined in Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s National Gaelic Language Plan.

The Scottish Languages Act 2025 builds upon the successes of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and introduces a range of measures to further enhance Gaelic provision in the functions and services of public authorities.

Commitment 11.8 Support approaches that promote the sustainab le management of the historic environment.

Marram Grass

HES are continuing to support communities in Na h-Eileanan Siar through a multi-year research project to assess the impact of harvesting marram grass for thatching on key sections of coastline. This initiative seeks to support vulnerable coastal communities by ensuring that marram grass can be sustainably harvested, safeguarding coastlines while preserving the distinctive and increasingly rare heritage of local thatched buildings. Marram grass, found on coastal dunes, has long been used as a traditional thatching material. NatureScot is part of the project’s steering group and much of the data gathered contributes to the Dynamic Coast Project. The research findings will shape HES’s grants policy, local planning regulations, grazing committee guideline as well as NatureScot’s policies and guidance.

Luing

Over the last three years, HES has worked with the Isle of Luing Community Trust to support aspirations to create a sustainable future for the island by establishing a new slate industry. The creation of this small-scale enterprise will not only produce material to support adaptation of our historic built environment but could also help the island manage the impacts of climate change and address the issue of costal erosion. The co-benefits of the project include the creation of job opportunities for young people, socio-economic development, and increased resilience for the island.

In 2025, the Trust achieved full minerals planning consent to extract stone for roofing slate production as well as the re-nourishment of Cullipool beach. The Trust has secured £1.75 million from the Scottish Government’s Regional Capital Grant Fund and £20,000 from the Islands Programme. They are working towards securing additional funding from HIE to complete phase 1. These works include creating an access ramp to the top of the quarry from the existing waste, removal of the overburden and re-nourishment of the beach, and building a small agricultural shed to process the material.

Collections Care

Collections Care Projects have been delivered at Iona Abbey and Rothesay Castle as part of the Indemnity Scheme project. At Iona Abbey, HES completed environmental control upgrades for the museum space, adding a ceiling fan to ensure thermal mixing. Benchmarking of several environmental monitoring schemes was undertaken to identify the best option for the unique communication challenges associated with the island location. In addition, a condition check of the collections in the museum was completed in preparation for the upcoming application for the renewal of Iona Abbey’s Museum Accreditation status. Stone conservation specialists relocated a number of stone objects from St Ronan’s Chapel to a secure and environmentally stable store at the Columba Centre on Mull.

At Rothesay Castle, security for the collections was improved with a new display case alarm system as well as lighting upgrades to reduce energy use.

Archives

HES’s archives team successfully completed the cataloguing and preservation of the extensive archive collection created by Margaret Curtis at Callanish, Lewis. The collection dates from the 1970s to the 2010s and is one of the most complete research resources for the wider Callanish sites in Na h-Eileanan Siar. The collection was housed in unsuitable conditions following Margaret Curtis’ death and is now available via HES Archives in Edinburgh.

Cultural Resources

Following a programme of dune re-charging works, including marram and lyme grass-planting at Links of Noltland on Westray, HES has programmed works to improve fencing around the property and the installation of biodegradable free-standing hay-bale erosion control measures.

New interpretation signage to enhance the visitor experience is also about to be installed at Links of Noltland and Noltland Castle properties at the Westray Heritage Centre, Pierowall to signpost visitors to heritage sites in the locality.