New National Islands Plan route map published

Details of how the Scottish Government will deliver their priorities over the lifetime of the National Islands Plan have been published in a route map.

It identifies the methods to monitor progress towards fulfilling the many commitments in the Plan and sets out timescales for delivery of our work.

Within the National Islands Plan, published in 2019, the Scottish Government committed to producing an Implementation Route Map to guide the delivery of the vision and priorities set out in the Plan.

The Implementation Route Map 2020-2025 was developed in collaboration with island local authorities, communities and other key delivery partners to identify desired outcomes, timescales and indicators for each of the 13 Strategic Objectives listed in the Plan.

Since 2022, the Scottish Government has also released annual route maps setting out actions and investments aimed at driving further progress towards the commitments made in the Plan.

This document – the third in its series – focuses on as yet unfulfilled commitments. Detailed actions have been assigned to each commitment, alongside an indicative timescale for delivery.

Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands said:

"I am pleased to present the 2024 update to the National Islands Plan Implementation Route Map (IRM).

Building on the Annual Report published last March, this is the latest in a series of documents released every year since 2022 to chart a forward-looking path for the continued implementation of Scotland’s National Islands Plan.

This route map sets out the tangible actions and investments that the Scottish Government intends to put in place going forward to support our island communities and empower them to thrive.

The complex challenges and significant opportunities facing our islands call for decisive actions across a broad spectrum of policy areas. This document seeks to catalyse and coordinate the delivery of island-focused measures across portfolios, concentrating on National Islands Plan commitments around which further efforts are needed.

There is, however, an important difference compared to past iterations of this route map.

As required by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the Scottish Government has carried out a comprehensive review of the National Islands Plan. As well as inviting responses through a dedicated online portal, we delivered in-person workshops and hosted online sessions to engage as many islanders as possible and give everyone with an interest in Scotland’s islands the opportunity to share their views.

While the Plan was seen as comprehensive and ambitious, respondents were clear that there is more to be done to realise our shared vision of successful and empowered island communities.

Since its publication in December 2019, the implementation of the Plan has navigated through a succession of often intertwined crises, not least the full effects of an unwelcome Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and the widely felt repercussions of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The resilience shown by our islands in the face of these challenges cannot be overstated.

Having considered the results of the consultation and reflected on what islanders told us, we have announced that a new National Islands Plan will be published in 2025.

Continuing a dialogue that has been underway since the development of the first Plan, we will work with island communities, local authorities and delivery partners to ensure the new document reflects their priorities and is conducive to even stronger partnerships benefitting islanders.

This route map will therefore continue to guide the ongoing implementation of the current Plan whilst ensuring continuity between the two documents and bridging their delivery.

People and communities will remain at the very heart of this work. The Scottish Government will continue to listen to and be guided by islanders while we sustain our efforts to meet their needs and support their ambitions".

You can access the full route map at: National Islands Plan: Implementation Route Map 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Pic credit: ferry approaching Stromness, Orkney (pic by A Robertson).