FUTURE Scottish governments may be legally bound to "island-proof" all decisions as part of a series of radical measures designed to empower communities.
Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles have been jointly campaigning for greater powers under the 'Our Islands Our Future' banner.
The Scottish Government is now to launch a consultation on measures that could see the islands winning additional powers and stronger representation at Holyrood.
Ministers say they are planning an Islands Bill, which when passed, would be about equality and empowerment for the island communities.
Islands Minister Derek Mackay went to Lewis to discuss the aspirations of the Bill with Higher Modern Studies pupils from The Nicholson Institute, the largest secondary school in the Western Isles.
He said the consultation would seek views on whether a legal duty should be placed on all future Scottish Governments to prepare a ‘National Islands Plan’ setting out ongoing commitments across all policy areas of Government to support and promote island communities.
It also raises the question of whether a legal duty should be placed on ministers and relevant public bodies to ‘island-proof’ their functions and decisions to that ensure they take account of the areas' distinctiveness.
In addition the public will also be asked what additional powers and functions could be passed to island councils to benefit or better protect the island communities they serve.
Views will be sought as to whether the Westerns Isles Scottish parliamentary constituency should enjoy the same statutory protection Orkney and Shetland already have.
There has long been local concern that any move to larger or more populous constituencies could see the Western Isles being joined to the likes of Skye.
Mr Mackay said: "Over the summer I had the opportunity to visit a number of island communities and hear first-hand from islanders about the challenges, but also about the opportunities of island life.
“I therefore see the launch of today’s consultation as the next step in helping inform the Government’s work for a more prosperous and fairer future for our island communities.”
Western Isles leader Angus Campbell, speaking on behalf of the Our Islands Our Future campaign, said: “The launch of this consultation is very significant in securing greater powers for Island areas and is the first islands-specific piece of legislation in over 40 years.
"We have continually lobbied for a fairer deal for islands and I would encourage people to respond to the consultation and share their views on the development of a future Islands’ Bill which comes as a result of the positive work being done on the Our Islands Our Future campaign.
"This is an opportunity for everyone to help shape a more prosperous and fairer future for our Islands.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel