Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 for Community Councillors

This short course will support Island Community Councillors to understand the key parts of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 (hereafter ‘the Act’) and its relevance to the work of Island Community Councils.

The course is not intended to equip Island Community Councillors with detailed knowledge of all aspects of the Act, rather it aims to ensure the most relevant parts are understood and Community Councillors know how the Act can support their efforts to affect policy change.

This course will therefore focus on Parts 1–3 of the Act, which cover the most important content for Community Councillors to be able to affect decision-making:

• Definitions of an ‘island’ and ‘island community’.

• The National Islands Plan.

• Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs).

The Act includes provisions that will not be covered in detail in this course, such as:

• the accurate representation of Shetland on maps

• changes to the representation of councillors in island wards at local government elections

• the establishment of a licensing scheme in respect of marine development.

If you want to know more about these parts of the Act, you can find details within the legislation itself.

Next, go to Section 1 Origins and ambitions.

The Act originated from a series of initiatives and consultations aimed at addressing the unique challenges faced by Scotland’s island communities:

1. Our Islands, Our Future Campaign: In 2013, leaders of the three island councils (Shetland, Orkney, and the Western Isles) launched the ‘Our Islands, Our Future’ campaign. This campaign called for greater autonomy and recognition of the islands’ unique needs.
2. Lerwick Declaration: In response to the campaign, the Scottish Government announced the Lerwick Declaration in July 2013, which committed to exploring the decentralisation of power to the islands.
3. Consultations and Reports: Between 2013 and 2015, various consultations and reports were conducted to gather views on devolving powers to the islands and improving their representation and services.

These initiatives highlighted the unique challenges of island communities and raised a number of issues that required addressing through legislation, including:

• geographic remoteness
• declining populations
• transport
• digital connections.

Proponents felt policies and strategies for Scotland don’t always take into account these challenges, leading to island inhabitants and communities being at a disadvantage compared to communities on the mainland.

The Islands (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Scottish Parliament on 9 June 2017. The Bill was passed on 30 May 2018 and became an Act on 6 July 2018.

The Act aims to address these issues by ensuring that island communities are considered in public policies and services ensuring their voices are heard and their needs are met. It was hoped legislation would enable culture change through introducing statutory duties on relevant public authorities to assess how proposed changes would affect island communities.

The Act also aimed to support Sustainable Development through creating a National Islands Plan and allowing for better management of marine resources, which would also support economic growth in the islands.

The Act has eight parts:

1. Key definitions

2. National Islands Plan

3. Duties in relation to island communities

4. Representation of island communities

5. Additional powers request

6. Development in the Scottish Island Marine Area

7. Delegation of functions relating to Regional Marine Plans

8. Final Provisions

This course will provide an overview of Parts 1, 2 and 3 as these are the most relevant parts of the legislation for Island Community Councils. The role of Community Councils in relation to these parts of the legislation will be explored, ensuring the course provides practical learning that you can take away and use to affect decision-making.

In Part 1 the Act provides definitions for what constitutes an ‘island’, an ‘inhabited island’ and an ‘island community’.

An island is a piece of land that is completely surrounded by the sea and stays above water at high tide. It doesn't matter if there are bridges or other man-made structures connecting it to other places; it's still considered an island.

An inhabited island is one where at least one person lives there all the time.

An island community is a group of people (two or more) who live on an island. This group can be made up of people living on the same island or different islands. They share common interests, identity or geography. Even uninhabited islands can be part of an island community if they help the environment or culture of the inhabited islands. This means that the natural surroundings and ecosystems of uninhabited islands are important to the people living on nearby inhabited islands.

The exact wording of the definitions can be found within the Act.

Part 2 of the Act creates a duty on Scottish Ministers to prepare a National Islands Plan. The purpose of the Plan is to set out the main objectives and strategy of the Scottish Government in relation to improving outcomes for island communities. The Act sets out some of the key areas for improving outcomes for island communities.

Outcomes of the Plan include:

• Increase the number of people living on islands.
• Boost the economy in a way that is sustainable.
• Protect and improve the environment.
• Enhancing biosecurity.
• Environmental wellbeing.
• Enhance health and wellbeing.
• Empower island communities to have a say in decisions.
• Improve transport services.
• Improve digital connectivity.
• Reduce fuel poverty.
• Manage the Scottish Crown Estate (land and property) effectively.

Preparation and scrutiny of the Plan

In developing the Plan, Scottish Ministers must consult with:

• Local authorities.
• People who represent island communities (such as Community Council’s).
• Anyone else who might be affected by the Plan.

The Act also requires Scottish Minister’s to consider the unique geography, natural heritage and culture of each island area.

The Plan must be reviewed every five years to see if it needs any changes and Scottish Ministers are required to report each year on how well the Plan is working and what will be done if things aren't improving.

Community Council’s played a key part in the consultation of the 2019 and 2025 National Islands Plan, hosting and contributing at events for local people to have their say on what matters to them in the Plan.

The Scottish Government (2024) have produced an National Islands Plan: Implementation Route Map with details of how they will deliver the priorities over the lifetime of the National Islands Plan. It outlines each commitment made to progress the priorities, the actions that are being taken, and the timescales for this.

A crucial change the Act seeks to make is to ensure public authorities consider the impacts of their decisions on island communities. This includes providing islanders with more avenues to challenge public authorities if they don’t consider the impacts of changes to policy, strategy and services to island communities. The most important aspect of this was the need for relevant authorities to undertake Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs).

The Act places a duty on relevant authorities to undertake an ICIA when developing, redeveloping, and delivering a policy, strategy or service. An impact assessment is required if it is anticipated to have a significantly different effect on an island community compared with other communities in Scotland, including other island communities and non-island communities.

Who needs to do this?

The Act applies to most public bodies and the full list of relevant authorities can be found in the schedule of the Act. Their responsibilities will depend on whether they operate in a specific area (e.g. a local authority) or a national body (e.g. Scottish Fire and Rescue Service).

The six local authorities that the Act applies to are:

• Argyll and Bute
• Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
• Highland
• North Ayrshire
• Orkney
• Shetland

If the authority operates in a specific geographical area the assessment of differential impact will only include other communities within the same geographical area. If the authority operates across Scotland, the assessment must consider the impact on communities throughout the entire country.

Why are Island Community Impact Assessments important?

The intention is that island communities impact assessments will become a normal procedural step in public authorities' decision-making processes. This is similar to the equality impact assessments used in relation to the duties contained in the Equality Act 2010. By considering the unique needs and circumstances of island communities, authorities can ensure more equitable and effective policies, strategies and services.

Community Councils have a responsibility to represent local people and can act as a voice for their local area, as well as provide opportunities for people’s voices to be heard. They should communicate the views and concerns of their community to relevant authorities, such as local authorities, health boards and national bodies.

To effectively represent their community, Island Community Councils should be proactive in consulting and engaging with local residents. This involves gathering feedback and opinions on how proposed policies, strategies or services might impact their community.

This might involve working with a relevant authority to support effective engagement with a community around a policy, strategy or change to a service. Community Councils can use their surveys, public meetings, and social media to reach a broad cross-section of the community.

The national community council’s website (www.communitycouncils.scot) contains resources to help Community Councils with community engagement activities.

Island Community Councils should advocate for local people and their way of life when it comes to decisions affecting them. Community Councils can highlight the importance of considering the unique challenges faced by island communities and push for policies that address these challenges. This includes ensuring that island communities impact assessments become a normal procedural step, similar to equality impact assessments.

Community Councils can challenge relevant authorities to ensure impact assessments are carried out when their policies, strategies and service changes are being proposed that affect the community. If a relevant authority doesn’t carry out an impact assessment in relation to a policy, strategy or service that has an effect on an island community, it must publish an explanation of its reasons for not doing so.

When impact assessments are carried out and published, Island Community Councils can review these to ensure that they include a thorough description of the differential effects on island communities and plan to improve or mitigate outcomes. Community Councils can provide feedback and suggest adjustments to better address the needs of their community.

If islanders believe their needs have not been considered, for example, if an ICIA has not been carried out or it doesn’t adequately describe the differential effect a policy is going to have on an island community compared to another, there are several mechanisms to challenge public authorities.

Firstly, attempts should be made for dialogue with the relevant authority. It may be that they weren’t aware of their responsibilities under the Act and would welcome dialogue on how to resolve the issue. It may be worth speaking to other elected representatives such as councillors, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) or Members of Parliament (MPs) to see what they can do to help, particularly if the decision has been taken by a national authority.

The Scottish Government has produced guidance for relevant authorities to follow when producing an ICIA. There is a seven-step process which authorities should follow.

This short video has been produced to help public authorities understand their obligations − watch the video to familiarise yourself with this and the seven-step process. A checklist has also been developed to help you scrutinise an ICIA, including whether the correct process has been followed.

If informal dialogue isn’t successful the following mechanisms are open to you:

1. Request a review – Islanders can request a review of the decision under the ‘Review of Island Communities Impact Assessments Decisions (Scotland) Regulations’. This allows them to formally challenge the adequacy of the impact assessments conducted by public authorities.
2. Complaints process – Islanders can use the standard complaints process of the relevant public authority. This involves submitting a formal complaint detailing how the authority has failed to meet its obligations under the Act.
3. Ombudsman – If the complaint is not resolved satisfactorily, islanders can escalate the issue to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO). The SPSO can investigate complaints about public services in Scotland and ensure that proper procedures were followed.
4. Judicial review – As a last resort, islanders can seek a judicial review. This is a legal process where a court reviews the lawfulness of a decision or action taken by a public authority. It can be used to challenge failures to carry out required impact assessments or consultations.

While dialogue is the best first step to advocating for your community, these mechanisms ensure public authorities can be held accountable for their responsibilities under the Act.

Islands (Scotland) Act 2018.Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2018/12/contents (Accessed 12 August 2025).

Scottish Government (2024) National Islands Plan: Implementation Route Map 2024. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-islands-plan-implementation-route-map-2024/pages/6/ (Accessed 12 August 2025).