Scottish Rural Communities Policy Review: Harris and Scalpay case study

Key learning and recommendations from Harris and Scalpay

Participants in Harris and Scalpay identified a need for longer term, multi-year funding cycles for Community Led Local Development which will allow better planning and strategic development. In particular, this would support a focus on longer-term investments in community development which may require more time to deliver positive outcomes for communities:

“Government is good at telling communities that they want them to look after themselves, but they have to actually give them the support to do so, and part of that means giving them the funds to do so, and also the confidence and the skills that are required to do so. And then, certainly in the Outer Hebrides... a lot of communities are willing to take on that responsibility.”

Participants said the available funding should be increased to account for the higher costs in islands and to be able to ensure funds can provide tailored support across the Outer Hebrides, recognising the diverse needs of communities in Harris and Scalpay. For example, an increase in funding to employ staff and maintain buildings:

“Community led local development is a really good thing, but I think it should be expanded. £11.6 million pounds last year was… too small. You need to treble it to make any difference, because once it gets down to the local level, all that the Western Isles had was £260,000 [revenue funding]. So how many groups are there…? You divide that into your 200 and everybody gets 50 pence? It’s pointless.”

There was a call from participants for more transparency for who is on the Local Action Group, its representativeness, and how decisions and priorities are made. The approach and expertise of the Community Led Local Delivery officers should be valued and further empowered to be able to support and build trust with communities across the Outer Hebrides.

Beyond the local Youth Local Action Group, there was no awareness or engagement with Scottish Rural Action or Scottish Rural Network. Participants valued networking and collaboration and suggested that it could be more impactful through a local network such as the Harris Forum. Participants also said the Local Action Group, as well as the work of Scottish Rural Action and the Scottish Rural Network, could be better integrated with local organisations in order to better design collaborative approaches for Harris and Scalpay communities.