Islands Programme capital fund 2021/22 to 2024/25: grant awards - evaluation

Annex 2: Outcomes of competitive funding rounds

* Argyll and Bute Council was awarded £157,265 in 2024/25 for one project but was unable to proceed with the project and claim the grant because of the significantly higher than expected costs of the tenders received in a formal procurement process for the work.

In relation to the projects that were not funded in the three-year period of the competitive bidding process:

• In 2022/23, four applications – two submitted by Argyll and Bute Council, one by Shetland Islands Council, and one by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar – were not successful in achieving funding. Reasons given by the Investment Panel for not awarding funding were that: (i) the relationship to the National Islands Plan strategic objectives was not sufficiently clear, (ii) there was a lack of community involvement in the development of the application, (iii) there was insufficient detail and / or evidence presented to make a convincing case for funding, and (iv) the local authority had previously committed to funding the work themselves.
• In 2023/24, three applications were not successful in achieving funding. Two (from Highland Council and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar) were unsuccessful because they had failed to demonstrate benefits to, or engagement with the community – and both were regarded as local authority responsibilities. In the third case (an application from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), a conditional award was made, dependent on other sources of funding being received. In the event this co-funding was not forthcoming, and the funds allocated were used instead for an application from another local authority (Orkney Islands Council) which had met the quality threshold for funding.
• In 2024/25, seven applications were not successful in achieving funding. These came from Argyll and Bute Council (2), Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (1), North Ayrshire Council (3), and Highland Council (1). The reasons given by the Investment Panel included that (i) the project was underdeveloped and too speculative, the business case had not been made convincingly, or it was unclear that the funding required for completion would be forthcoming, (ii) it was unlikely that legal commitments for expenditure of the grant could be completed by 31 March 2025, (iii) the project was not thought to be viable once operational, and would be unlikely to have impacts beyond very specific groups of the population, and (iv) there had been inadequate community consultation and / or focus on local impacts and outcomes.

However, it should be noted that, in 2023/24 and 2024/25, all the applications that were not funded had, in fact, passed the necessary quality threshold for funding in the initial panel assessments.

Table A2.2: Amounts allocated towards National Islands Plan strategic objectives identified by local authorities as priority objectives*, 2021/22 to 2024/25

National Islands Plan Objectives

Sustainable economic development

Amount allocated over four years

£4,628,526

National Islands Plan Objectives

Empowered island communities

Amount allocated over four years

£2,761,720

National Islands Plan Objectives

Health, social care and wellbeing

Amount allocated over four years

£1,858,020

National Islands Plan Objectives

Population levels

Amount allocated over four years

£1,683,169

National Islands Plan Objectives

Transport

Amount allocated over four years

£1,486,830

National Islands Plan Objectives

Housing

Amount allocated over four years

£892,000

National Islands Plan Objectives

Arts, culture and language

Amount allocated over four years

£885,850

National Islands Plan Objectives

Environmental wellbeing and biosecurity

Amount allocated over four years

£647,812

National Islands Plan Objectives

Education

Amount allocated over four years

£250,000

National Islands Plan Objectives

Digital connectivity

Amount allocated over four years

£100,000

National Islands Plan Objectives

Fuel poverty

Amount allocated over four years

£0

National Islands Plan Objectives

Climate change and energy

Amount allocated over four years

£0

Total

£15,193,927

* The primary Strategic Objective assigned to an award for reporting purposes is based on information provided by local authorities in their applications and monitoring form updates.