Island Communities Impact Assessment
Annual Report 2024-25
Contents
- Introduction — 2
- National legislation and guidance — 2
- Local policy and practice — 3
- ICIA activity during 2024-25 — 4
- External challenge — 6
- Appendix 1 – Q and A — 8
- Appendix 2 – ICIA template — 12
- Appendix 3 – Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan — 16
- Appendix 4 – Home-based Registrars — 25
22 August 2025
1. Introduction
Orkney Islands Council has a statutory duty, in accordance with Section 7 of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, to have regard to island communities in carrying out its functions. As a “relevant authority” under the Act, the Council must publish regular reports on what it has done, during the reporting period concerned, to fulfil this duty. This report describes action which the Council has taken to fulfil its Section 7 duty during financial year 2024-25.
2. National legislation and guidance
The relevant parts of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 are explained below in terms of how they apply to the Council. Section 7 of the Act defines the statutory duty imposed on the relevant authorities listed in the Act, which include the six Scottish councils with islands. Sections 8 and 10 of the Act explain what action the Council needs to take to fulfil its Section 7 duty, and Section 12 explains how it should be reported.
Section 7 – Duty to have regard to island communities
The Council must have regard to island communities in carrying out its functions.
Section 8 – Island communities impact assessment
The Council must prepare an island communities impact assessment (an ICIA) in relation to a policy, strategy, or service which, in its opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Orkney.
An ICIA must describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service, and assess the extent to which the Council considers that it can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve, or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it.
If the Council does not prepare an ICIA in relation to a policy, strategy, or service which has an effect on an island community, it must publish an explanation of its reasons for not doing so.
Section 10 – Compliance with section 7 duty
The Council must make arrangements to review any policy, strategy or service which it develops or delivers in carrying out its functions, not just new ones. It should do this either by means of an ICIA (for example, if we think a policy is likely to have a differential effect on an island community) or by taking such other steps as it considers appropriate.
Section 12 – Reporting regarding section 7 duty
The Council must publish information about the steps it has taken to comply with the Section 7 duty during each reporting period. A “reporting period” can be any length of time up to a maximum of one year. The Council may publish the information in whatever form it considers appropriate.
This report is our Section 12 report for financial year 2024-25.
National guidance on ICIA
Scottish Government has published a guidance toolkit to help relevant authorities carry out their Section 7 duty. This includes a template taking authorities through the stages of conducting an ICIA.
Step One – Develop a clear understanding of the objectives of your proposed policy, strategy or service.
Step Two – Gather relevant data and identify your stakeholders.
Step Three – Consultation with island community stakeholders to learn about any differential impacts of the proposed policy, strategy or service.
Step Four – Assessment – on the basis of your findings, is your policy, strategy or service likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities)?
Step Five – If yes, write up your ICIA describing your findings, any differential impacts and planned mitigation measures. If no, proceed to step six.
Step Six – Make adjustments to your policy, strategy or service to accommodate the mitigation measures or any other changes arising from the ICIA process.
Step Seven – Publish your ICIA, or your explanation of why an ICIA is not needed.
The guidance stresses the importance of consultation and robust community engagement so that islanders are given a platform to voice their opinions, concerns and suggestions.
3. Local policy and practice
The Council’s Head of Corporate Governance has previously issued guidance to the Extended Corporate Leadership Team, comprising questions and answers on ICIA and appending the Council’s standard template for ICIA, which follows the six step process set out in the national guidance. The Extended Management Team comprises the Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service. The Q&A and template, which have been updated to reflect a management restructure, are attached to this report at Appendices 1 and 2 respectively.
Section 10 of the Act requires the Council to conduct ICIA on any Council policy, strategy or service which might impact differently on one or more island communities. It would not be feasible to conduct ICIA on all of the Council’s policies, strategies and services at once so ICIA is done during the development of new policies, strategies and services, or whenever one is under review.
The Council has a standard template for ICIA. Officers are advised to complete Steps 1-4 at the beginning of the development of a policy, strategy or service, and before any dedicated consultation has taken place. This is because the first steps reveal any gaps in the knowledge and evidence which underpins the policy, strategy or service, and a consultation or engagement exercise can then be designed to fill those gaps.
Orkney Islands Council has integrated ICIA into its regular committee reporting process, ensuring that it cannot be overlooked. Committee reports are planned and tracked in advance in a master planning schedule. The schedule records whether an ICIA is needed to accompany the report, which will likely be the case if it concerns a new or revised policy, strategy or service. Guidance issued to report writers specifies:
If, after completing Steps 1 to 4 of the Island Communities Impact Assessment, the report writer assesses that the policy, strategy or service being developed, reviewed or delivered in terms of the report is unlikely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Orkney, a full Island Communities Impact Assessment is not required (ie Steps 5 to 7 do not require to be completed).
A revised committee report template was issued for 2024-25, with the ICIA process recorded in a standard section within a list of Implications. Standard wording is provided for use as follows.
6. Island Communities Impact
A full Island Communities Impact Assessment has been undertaken and is attached as Appendix x to this report.
OR
As the policy, strategy or service being developed, reviewed or delivered in terms of this report has been assessed as being unlikely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Orkney, a full Island Communities Impact Assessment has not been undertaken.
OR
An Island Communities Impact Assessment is not required in respect of financial monitoring/performance monitoring (delete as applicable or insert alternative reason).
4. ICIA activity during 2024-25
The table below lists all ICIA activity reported to Council committees during 2024-25. Reports on ICIA work, and draft ICIAs where required, are mostly published as appendices to committee reports.
ICIA preparatory work does not always lead to a full ICIA. Where a Service concludes that a full ICIA is not required, the preparatory work may be reported to committee, but step 5 of the ICIA template is not required.
Where a report is marked “Not for publication”, this will be by virtue of the relevant clauses in Part I of Schedule 7A of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as indicated on the meeting agenda. For example, it might contain commercially sensitive information, or personal details relating to an individual.
Two ICIAs were completed which were not part of the Committee report process, and are appended to this report:
- Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (Appendix 3).
- Removal of Home-Based Registrar Service (Appendix 4).
| Policy, strategy or service | Relevant committee and link to ICIA or to preliminary ICIA work |
|---|---|
| Ferry Replacement Programme. | Development and Infrastructure Committee, 4 June 2024. Not for publication. |
| Anti-Bullying Policy. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 5 June 2024. item-06__anti-bullying-policy.pdf |
| Local Housing Strategy. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 5 June 2024. item-07__local-housing-strategy.pdf |
| Orkney Islands Local Marine Asset Management and Local Governance Pilot Scheme. | Development and Infrastructure Committee, 10 September 2024. Item 13 - Marine Assets Pilot Scheme |
| Community Learning, Development and Employability – Youth Services Internal Review. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 11 September 2024. item-13__clde-youth-services-internal-review.pdf |
| Whistleblowing Policy. | Human Resources Sub-committee, 5 November 2024. item-04-review-of-whistleblowing-policy.pdf |
| Empty Homes Support Scheme. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 13 November 2024. item-10-empty-homes-support-scheme.pdf |
| Strategic Housing Investment Plan. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 13 November 2024. item-11-strategic-housing-investment-plan.pdf |
| Communications and Engagement Strategy. | Policy and Resources Committee, 27 November 2024. Item 03 Communications and Engagement Strategy |
| Sustainable Procurement Policy. | Policy and Resources Committee, 27 November 2024. Item 04 Sustainable Procurement Policy |
| Corporate Anti-Fraud Policy. | Policy and Resources Committee, 27 November 2024. Item 05 Corporate Anti-Fraud Policy |
| Capital Strategy. | Policy and Resources Committee, 27 November 2024. Item 06 Capital Strategy |
| Orkney Harbours Environmental Policy. | Harbour Authority Sub-committee, 21 January 2025. Item 8 - Environmental Policy Report IA |
| Composite Class Policy. | Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, 5 February 2025. item-08-composite-class-policy-ia.pdf |
| Treasury Management Strategy Statement. | Policy and Resources Committee, 18 February 2025. Item 03 Treasury Management Strategy Statement |
| Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places. | Policy and Resources Committee, 18 February 2025. Item 04 Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places |
| Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy for Orkney. | Policy and Resources Committee, 18 February 2025. Item 07 Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy for Orkney |
| Fostering, Adoption and Kinship Care Allowances and Fees. | Policy and Resources Committee, 18 February 2025. Item 09 Fostering and Adoption Allowances and Fees |
| Orkney Community Plan, incorporating LOIP. | Policy and Resources Committee, 18 February 2025. Item 21 Orkney Community Plan, incorporating Local Outcomes Improvement Plan |
| Orkney’s Community Wind Farm Project. | Policy and Resources Committee, 20 February 2025. Not for publication. |
| Orkney Harbour Authority Hydrographic Policy. | Harbour Authority Sub-committee, 18 March 2025. Item 6 - Hydrographic Policy |
5. External challenge
In addition to carrying out its own duties under the Act, the Council monitors ICIA activity by Scottish Ministers with regard to forthcoming legislation, or by other public sector agencies planning new policies, strategies or services. If ICIA has not been conducted where we would consider it necessary, or we feel that Orkney’s island communities have not been given sufficient consideration, the Council is empowered under the Act to challenge Scottish Ministers, or another relevant authority, to revisit their plans and complete ICIA to the standard required by the Act.
Where the policy, strategy or service concerned is of sufficient significance to affect the delivery of the Orkney Community Plan, The Orkney Partnership may also choose to raise issues regarding ICIA in response to consultation.
During 2024-25, the Council did not mount any external challenges.
Appendix 1 – Q and A
Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 - Duties
Questions and Answers
1. What are the Council’s duties under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018?
The Act places a duty on the Council to have regard to island communities in carrying out its functions, and the Council must publish information about the steps that it has taken to comply with this duty. The Council must also prepare Island Communities Impact Assessments in certain circumstances. In addition, the Council has a duty to respond to requests for review of Island Communities Impact Assessments.
2. What is an Island Communities Impact Assessment?
An Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA) is designed to improve outcomes for island communities in meaningful ways and is a legal requirement. It should be an early part of the development of any new strategy, policy or service.
The ICIA helps you look at the needs of different island communities and encourages consideration about how the proposal will affect them. Some of these impacts may be positive and others may be negative. You can think about ways to reduce the negative impacts so that everyone will be able to benefit from the proposal.
3. When do I have to carry out an Island Communities Impact Assessment?
You need to carry out an ICIA whenever you are developing, delivering or redeveloping a policy, strategy or service which, in your view, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) within Orkney.
You should also carry out an ICIA whenever you review an existing strategy, policy or service which, in your view, is likely to have such an effect as described above.
4. How do I carry out an Island Communities Impact Assessment?
The ICIA must describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service and assess the extent to which you consider that the policy, strategy or service can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it.
The Scottish Government has developed a toolkit and guidance which includes a seven-step guide to assist you in the process of carrying out an ICIA. You can view this at:
Island communities impact assessments: guidance and toolkit - gov.scot
An ICIA template, which is based on the model contained in the above toolkit, has been developed and should be used whenever you carry out an ICIA. The template is attached as an Appendix to this document.
After the first four steps in the process set out in the toolkit, you must determine whether, in your opinion, the policy, strategy or service is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).
If your answer is NO to the above question, a full ICIA will not be required, and you can proceed to Step SIX in the process.
If the answer is YES, a full ICIA must be prepared, and you should proceed to Step FIVE.
5. Who signs off an ICIA?
All completed ICIAs must be approved and signed off by a Head of Service, unless completed by a Head of Service, in which case, they should be approved and signed off by a Corporate Director.
6. Does a completed ICIA need to be published?
Yes. Completed ICIAs should be passed to the Council’s Digital Communications Coordinator who will arrange for their publication on the Council’s website, as this is a legal requirement. In addition, completed ICIAs should be shared with all stakeholders who had been consulted during preparation of the ICIA.
7. Do I need to publish an ICIA even if I have assessed after Step FOUR that a full ICIA is not required (see question 4 above)?
Yes. Even where it is assessed that a given policy, strategy or service is not likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities), the ICIA template must be completed and published.
8. Do I need to complete an ICIA if I am reviewing an existing policy, strategy or service (instead of developing or delivering a new one)?
The Council has a statutory duty to have regard to island communities in carrying out its functions. The legislation provides that the Council demonstrates compliance with this duty by making appropriate arrangements to review any policy, strategy or service (as the case may be) which it develops or delivers in carrying out its functions, and either:
- in the case where an ICIA is required (see question 3), by preparing that ICIA, or
- in any other case, by making such an assessment or taking such other steps as the Council considers appropriate.
Such steps might, for example, include consultation with groups representing island communities during the delivery of a particular service or undertaking of an ICIA even though the mandatory criteria have not been met.
Policies, strategies or services should be reviewed by the relevant Corporate Director at regular intervals in line with agreed review periods or sooner at the discretion of the relevant Corporate Director.
All ICIAs, including those completed as part of a review of an existing policy, strategy or service, must be submitted to the Council’s Digital Communications Coordinator for publication on the Council’s website.
9. Can an ICIA that I have carried out be reviewed?
In certain circumstances, a review of a decision relating to an ICIA may be requested by an “applicant”. An applicant is defined in the legislation to include an individual who is a resident of an island community at the time of the decision, or a community-controlled body. In such circumstances, the applicant is obliged to demonstrate that they have been directly affected (or are likely to be directly affected) by the relevant policy, strategy or service.
Applications for review must be made by the applicant, normally within three months of the relevant decision, using the form prescribed in the legislation. The legislation and the specified form are available at:
Empowering our island communities - Community empowerment - gov.scot
(www.gov.scot)
10. Who will consider and determine the review?
The Council can determine an application for review even though the Council had made the decision which is the subject of the review.
The application for review should be considered by a Corporate Director or Head of Service who was not involved in the original decision forming the subject of the application for review.
There is no legal right of appeal against the determination of an application for review.
11. Are there any reporting duties that I need to be aware of?
The Council requires to publish information annually about the steps that it has taken to comply with its duty to have regard to island communities in carrying out its functions.
The Council has decided that this information should be published in the Council’s Annual Performance Report.
This information should include a description of how the Council has had regard to island communities in carrying out its functions, a list of policies, strategies or services for which the Council has completed an ICIA and any other steps that the Council has taken for such policies, strategies or services for which an ICIA was not required.
12. Are any other public authorities subject to duties under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018?
Yes, a large number of public authorities, including the Scottish Government, have similar duties to the Council under the legislation.
For example, the Scottish Government, must prepare and publish an ICIA in relation to any legislation, policy, strategy or service which, in its opinion, is likely to have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Scotland.
13. Does the legislation provide for retrospective ICIAs?
The Council may make a request to the Scottish Government to prepare and publish a retrospective ICIA in relation to existing legislation or national strategies which have an effect on an island community which is significantly different from their effect on other communities (including other island communities) in Scotland.
There is no provision in the legislation that allows anyone to request the Council to undertake retrospective ICIAs. However, the Council may independently determine that an ICIA is required during the course of its review of an existing policy, strategy or service.
Appendix 1
Template Island Communities Impact Assessment Form
Gavin Mitchell
Head of Legal and Governance
6 April 2022.
Appendix 2 – ICIA template
Island Communities Impact Assessment
[Insert Policy, Strategy or Service Title]
| Preliminary Considerations | Response |
|---|---|
| Please provide a brief description or summary of the policy, strategy or service under review for the purposes of this assessment. | |
| Step 1 – Develop a clear understanding of your objectives | Response |
| What are the objectives of the policy, strategy or service? | |
| Do you need to consult? | |
| How are islands identified for the purpose of the policy, strategy or service? | |
| What are the intended impacts/outcomes and how do these potentially differ in the islands? | |
| Is the policy, strategy or service new? | |
| Step 2 – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders | Response |
| What data is available about the current situation in the islands? | |
| Do you need to consult? | |
| How does any existing data differ between islands? | |
| Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place? | |
| Step 3 – Consultation | Response |
| Who do you need to consult with? | |
| How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales? | |
| What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities? | |
| What information has already been gathered through consultations and what concerns have been raised previously by island communities? | |
| Is your consultation robust and meaningful and sufficient to comply with the Section 7 duty? | |
| Step 4 – Assessment | Response |
| Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities? | |
| Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts? | |
| How will you address these? |
You must now determine whether in your opinion your policy, strategy or service is likely to have an effect on an island community, which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).
If your answer is No to the above question, a full ICIA will NOT be required and you can process to Step 6.
If the answer is Yes, an ICIA must be prepared and you should proceed to Step 5.
To form your opinion, the following questions should be considered:
- Does the evidence show different circumstances or different expectations or needs, or different experiences or outcomes (such as different levels of satisfaction, or different rates of participation)?
- Are these different effects likely?
- Are these effects significantly different?
- Could the effect amount to a disadvantage for an island community compared to the Scottish mainland or between island groups?
| Step 5 – Preparing your ICIA | Response |
|---|---|
| In Step 5, you should describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service: | |
| Assess the extent to which you consider that the policy, strategy or service can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it. | |
| Consider alternative delivery mechanisms and whether further consultation is required. | |
| Describe how these alternative delivery mechanisms will improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | |
| Identify resources required to improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | |
| Stage 6 – Making adjustments to your work | Response |
| Should delivery mechanisms/mitigations vary in different communities? | |
| Do you need to consult with island communities in respect of mechanisms or mitigations? | |
| Have island circumstances been factored into the evaluation process? | |
| Have any island-specific indicators/targets been identified that require monitoring? | |
| How will outcomes be measured on the islands? | |
| How has the policy, strategy or service affected island communities? | |
| How will lessons learned in this ICIA inform future policy making and service delivery? | |
| Step 7 – Publishing your ICIA | Response |
| Have you presented your ICIA in an Easy Read format? | |
| Does it need to be presented in Gaelic or any other language? | |
| Where will you publish your ICIA and will relevant stakeholders be able to easily access it? | |
| Who will signoff your final ICIA and why? |
| ICIA completed by: | |
| Position: | |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: |
| ICIA approved by: | |
| Position: | |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: |
Appendix 3 – Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan
Island Communities Impact Assessment
Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan
| Preliminary Considerations | Response |
|---|---|
| Please provide a brief description or summary of the policy, strategy or service under review for the purposes of this assessment. | Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan |
| Step 1 – Develop a clear understanding of your objectives | Response |
| What are the objectives of the policy, strategy or service? | Rapid Rehousing Transition Plans aim to end rough sleeping, transform the use of temporary accommodation and end homelessness in Scotland. The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan links strategically with the Local Housing Strategy, Homelessness Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan. |
| Do you need to consult? | The Housing Needs and Demand Assessment and the draft Local Housing Strategy has been developed over 12 months January to December 2023 through the Orkney Housing Market Partnership which encompasses the Council’s Member Officer Working Group. It comprises a range of stakeholders including: |
| - Orkney Islands Council Elected Members - Orkney Islands Council - Education, Leisure & Housing; Neighbourhood Services & Infrastructure; Enterprise & Sustainable Regeneration; Strategy, Performance & Business Solutions; Orkney Health & Care. - Orkney Housing Association (OHAL) - Orkney College UHI - The Development Trusts’ housing consultant - Highland & Islands Enterprise (HIE) - Housebuilders - NHS Orkney - Scottish Government More Homes Division - Scottish Water | |
| The Partnership held 8 meetings between January and December 2023 to oversee production of the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment, and then to develop the Local Housing Strategy. This process involved: | |
| - Consideration of Housing Strategy topic papers and presentations - Workshops on each topic with a total of 20 break out groups over the development period including a total of 45 stakeholders. Most Partnership members attended multiple workshops. | |
| The Housing Market Partnership’s work built on wider community consultation led by the Council in late 2021 and early 2022 – ‘Orkney Matters’, with findings feeding into the Housing Need and Demand Assessment, and the Local Housing Strategy development. The focus was on community and place with questions asked on what’s working, what’s not working so well and what would the community like to improve. The engagement was through survey, online consultation, and art workshops for harder to reach groups. This project involved all Council teams including the Housing Service and partner agencies from Orkney’s Community Planning Partnership. | |
| The Local Housing Strategy consultative draft was issued for public consultation with a questionnaire to ask for feedback on the housing vision, priorities, outcomes and actions. The consultative draft was disseminated through proactive media engagement with the established network of organisations and community groups including Community Councils and the Development Trusts. Separate consultation took place with the 10 Development Trusts (2 meetings) to ensure the needs of isles communities were understood and built into both the Housing Needs and Demand Assessment and the Local Housing Strategy. Community Councils were also contacted directly to ask them to respond to the Strategy consultation. Findings from the consultation were reported through the Education, Leisure and Housing Committee in June 2024 and integrated into the final strategy. Homelessness is integrated within the Local Housing Strategy and the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan links closely to this. Therefore specific consultation on the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan is not required. | |
| How are islands identified for the purpose of the policy, strategy or service? | Both the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan and the Local Housing strategy cover the whole local authority area which includes all the inhabited islands. The LHS identifies 5 separate Housing Market Areas (HMAs) which are used for analysis, action planning and resource allocation alongside the separate Strategic Housing Investment Plan. The HMAs are Kirkwall, Stromness, West Mainland, East Mainland and the Linked South Isles, and Isles. Homelessness is predominantly an issue in Kirkwall and Stromness but it does exist in rural communities and to a lesser degree in isles as well. |
| What are the intended impacts/outcomes and how do these potentially differ in the islands? | The Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan seeks to reduce the time homeless households spend in temporary accommodation and seeks to ensure homeless households are permanently housed as swiftly as possible. The impacts don’t differ in the isles nor do the outcomes. The number of cases in isles is very low. In financial year 2023/24 2 homeless households were rehoused in isles communities out of a total of 144 for Orkney. The legislative requirement is the same across all the Orkney Islands. The consultation and LHS development process involved consultation with representatives living on the ferry linked isles who made recommendations on action for the islands. These are included in the action plan across the different priorities and outcomes, although some of the outcomes and actions are valid for all communities across the Orkney Islands. |
| Is the policy, strategy or service new? | Revised for the period 2023/24 |
| Step 2 – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders | Response |
| What data is available about the current situation in the islands? | Significant data is available on homelessness across Orkney. This includes where households presented as homeless from, the reasons for homelessness, household composition and where the households were permanently rehoused etc. |
| Do you need to consult? | No, consultation has been covered as part of the consultation on the LHS as outlined above. |
| How does any existing data differ between islands? | Data on homelessness across the isles is tiny. The incidence of homelessness within specific / individual isles communities tends to be irregular. |
| Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place? | Where temporary accommodation is required in an island location, this would be provided either through existing Council stock if there were availability or sourced directly from the private sector etc if possible. There may be occasions where this is not possible and therefore an alternative option will be discussed and delivered. In relation to permanent rehousing, every attempt would be made to house a household in the area of their choice in line with the Code of Guidance on Homelessness (ie where they work, children go to school, support networks are etc). There are some differences in provision of housing and related housing services and care and support services which require different responses across different island communities. For example, most isles have some social rented housing provision but not all, the cost of new housing supply on the islands is higher and more difficult to procure than Orkney mainland. Housing and care and support services are more challenging to deliver due to workforce constraint. These issues will be addressed on an ad hoc basis as numbers are too low to allow a more specific response. |
| Step 3 – Consultation | Response |
| Who do you need to consult with? | N/A. The LHS has covered consultation requirements. |
| How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales? | N/A |
| What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities? | N/A |
| What information has already been gathered through consultations and what concerns have been raised previously by island communities? | As set out above there are a range of aspects to delivering housing supply, and related housing services and care and support services which require different responses across different island communities. For example, the cost of new housing supply on the islands is higher and more difficult to procure than Orkney mainland. Housing and care and support services are more challenging to deliver due to workforce constraint. The delivery plan sets out actions to address these challenges. |
| Is your consultation robust and meaningful and sufficient to comply with the Section 7 duty? | Yes. The consultative survey for the LHS was administered by the Council’s Communications team to ensure the consultative draft was disseminated as widely as possible, e.g. through traditional media and existing networks and social media. The Communications team analysed survey in line with data protection requirements and report on findings for inform development of the finalised strategy. |
| Step 4 – Assessment | Response |
| Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities? | Yes |
| Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts? | Yes |
| How will you address these? | The Local Housing Strategy identifies a range of action to work with island communities to address the housing needs. These include ensuring continued new supply which will require enhanced investment resources to make this viable in some communities (funding through Scottish Government. Specific homelessness needs will be addressed as required and if need be additional supply may be considered. |
You must now determine whether in your opinion your policy, strategy or service is likely to have an effect on an island community, which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities).
If your answer is No to the above question, a full ICIA will NOT be required and you can process to Step 6.
If the answer is Yes, an ICIA must be prepared and you should proceed to Step 5.
To form your opinion, the following questions should be considered:
- Does the evidence show different circumstances or different expectations or needs, or different experiences or outcomes (such as different levels of satisfaction, or different rates of participation)?
- Are these different effects likely?
- Are these effects significantly different?
- Could the effect amount to a disadvantage for an island community compared to the Scottish mainland or between island groups?
| Step 5 – Preparing your ICIA | Response |
|---|---|
| In Step 5, you should describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service: | N/A. |
| Assess the extent to which you consider that the policy, strategy or service can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it. | N/A. |
| Consider alternative delivery mechanisms and whether further consultation is required. | N/A. |
| Describe how these alternative delivery mechanisms will improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | N/A. |
| Identify resources required to improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | N/A. |
| Stage 6 – Making adjustments to your work | Response |
| Should delivery mechanisms/mitigations vary in different communities? | As noted above - The Local Housing Strategy identifies a range of action to work with island communities to address the housing needs. These include ensuring continued new supply which will require enhanced investment resources to make this viable in some communities (funding through Scottish Government), and enhancing access to housing for key/essential workers through reviewed housing policies and procedures. |
| Do you need to consult with island communities in respect of mechanisms or mitigations? | No |
| Have island circumstances been factored into the evaluation process? | Yes, island circumstances are factored into the Local Housing Strategy, Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan and the related policies and procedures across a broad range of island communities. |
| Have any island-specific indicators/targets been identified that require monitoring? | Yes – ensuring housing supply targets are met across different islands and Housing Market Area, identification at a lower geography on homelessness and letting policies. |
| How will outcomes be measured on the islands? | The outcomes will be measured through reporting on the LHS delivery action plan – quarterly and annually to the Housing Market Partnership and annually to the Council. |
| How has the policy, strategy or service affected island communities? | As above. |
| How will lessons learned in this ICIA inform future policy making and service delivery? | It will feed into ongoing review of the LHS, and development of related policy and action. |
| Step 7 – Publishing your ICIA | Response |
| Have you presented your ICIA in an Easy Read format? | Yes. |
| Does it need to be presented in Gaelic or any other language? | No. |
| Where will you publish your ICIA and will relevant stakeholders be able to easily access it? | Orkney Islands Council’s Website with updated Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan. |
| Who will signoff your final ICIA and why? | James Wylie, Corporate Director of Education, Leisure and Housing – line manager of Frances Troup. |
| ICIA completed by: | Frances Troup |
| Position: | Head of Community Learning, Leisure and Housing |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: | 11 December 2024 |
| ICIA approved by: | James Wylie |
| Position: | Corporate Director of Education, Leisure and Housing |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: | 11 December 2024 |
Appendix 4 – Home-based Registrars
Island Communities Impact Assessment
Home-based Registrars
| Preliminary Considerations | Response |
|---|---|
| Please provide a brief description or summary of the policy, strategy or service under review for the purposes of this assessment. | Provision of home-based registrars (manual offices) |
| Step 1 – Develop a clear understanding of your objectives | Response |
| What are the objectives of the policy, strategy or service? | Removal of service |
| Do you need to consult? | Yes |
| How are islands identified for the purpose of the policy, strategy or service? | Islands can be identified as the collective Orkney Islands (of around 20 inhabited islands), as a group (ie North Isles, South Isles, ferry-linked isles) or individually (ie Westray, Sanday, Stronsay etc). Islands will be considered in accordance with the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 as a “formed area of land surrounded on all sides by the sea (ignoring artificial structures such as bridges) and above water at high tide”. |
| What are the intended impacts/outcomes and how do these potentially differ in the islands? | Removal of service, 8 of the 9 home-based registrars are based on an island. |
| Is the policy, strategy or service new? | Yes |
| Step 2 – Gather your data and identify your stakeholders | Response |
| What data is available about the current situation in the islands? | Self-employed registrars are resident in Westray, Papa Westray, North Ronaldsay, Stronsay, Eday, Sanday, Hoy and Flotta. One self-employed registrar is resident on the Orkney mainland, with access to a computer in the Warehouse Buildings, Stromness, rather than having facilities at their home address. |
| Do you need to consult? | Yes |
| How does any existing data differ between islands? | In terms of population, islands across Orkney can vary in size, with the mainland home to around 75% of Orkney’s residents. Westray is the only other island with more than 500 residents. There are differences in connectivity, both transport and digital, between islands. |
| Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place? | Registrations no longer require to be carried out face-to-face. Options include via telephone or virtually (eg Microsoft Teams, Zoom etc). Births and deaths can be registered at any Registration Office in Scotland. |
| Step 3 – Consultation | Response |
| Who do you need to consult with? | Home-based registrars and the public |
| How will you carry out your consultation and in what timescales? | Direct contact with home-based registrars and part of overall Council survey on potential budget savings |
| What questions will you ask when considering how to address island realities? | Do you strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree, with the proposal? Consultees are invited to enter any comments. |
| What information has already been gathered through consultations and what concerns have been raised previously by island communities? | Consultation is currently ongoing. Previously, concerns regarding the inability to undertake family history research have been raised. Electronic registration offices (Kirkwall being one) can access all records from 1855 to present day. Manual offices only held their own specific records, copies of which were supplied by NRS annually. Since 2007, NRS ceased sending copies of the registration pages which meant manual offices no longer held up-to-date records. As records require to be held in fireproof safes, home-based registrars were asked whether they wished to retain these or return all records to the Kirkwall office. Subsequently, only two isles-based registrars hold records. These would be able to be returned to the Kirkwall Registration Office. The other records are held in the Archives section at Orkney Library and Archive. In order for someone to open the records they have to be authorised by NRS to do so. Relevant information can be obtained from the Kirkwall Registration office negating the need to travel to an individual island. It should be noted, however, that registration records are not OIC records. The information is held on behalf of the National Records of Scotland (NRS). |
| Is your consultation robust and meaningful and sufficient to comply with the Section 7 duty? | Yes |
| Step 4 – Assessment | Response |
| Does your assessment identify any unique impacts on island communities? | No. Registration records can be accessed at the Kirkwall Registration office. Methods of undertaking a registration are no longer restricted to face-to-face contact in the specific area. A birth or death event in Scotland can be registered remotely, or at any registration office across Scotland. |
| Does your assessment identify any potential barriers or wider impacts? | No – see above. |
| How will you address these? | Not applicable. |
You must now determine whether in your opinion your policy, strategy or service is likely to have an effect on an island community, which is significantly different from its effect on other communities (including other island communities). No.
If your answer is No to the above question, a full ICIA will NOT be required and you can proceed to Step 6.
If the answer is Yes, an ICIA must be prepared and you should proceed to Step 5.
To form your opinion, the following questions should be considered:
- Does the evidence show different circumstances or different expectations or needs, or different experiences or outcomes (such as different levels of satisfaction, or different rates of participation)?
- Are these different effects likely?
- Are these effects significantly different?
- Could the effect amount to a disadvantage for an island community compared to the Scottish mainland or between island groups?
| Step 5 – Preparing your ICIA | Response |
|---|---|
| In Step 5, you should describe the likely significantly different effect of the policy, strategy or service: | N/A |
| Assess the extent to which you consider that the policy, strategy or service can be developed or delivered in such a manner as to improve or mitigate, for island communities, the outcomes resulting from it. | N/A |
| Consider alternative delivery mechanisms and whether further consultation is required. | N/A |
| Describe how these alternative delivery mechanisms will improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | N/A |
| Identify resources required to improve or mitigate outcomes for island communities. | N/A |
| Stage 6 – Making adjustments to your work | Response |
|---|---|
| Should delivery mechanisms/mitigations vary in different communities? | No |
| Do you need to consult with island communities in respect of mechanisms or mitigations? | No |
| Have island circumstances been factored into the evaluation process? | Yes |
| Have any island-specific indicators/targets been identified that require monitoring? | No |
| How will outcomes be measured on the islands? | N/A |
| How has the policy, strategy or service affected island communities? | Due to changes in the registration process, most recently as a result of the Covid pandemic, home-based registrars, who have no direct access to the FER system, are now limited to birth registrations only. Since 2020 to October 2024, of the 784 births registered in Orkney, 7 were registered by the home-based registrars, with the information then having to be inputted onto the FER system by staff in the Kirkwall office. Removal of the home-based registrars will have a very limited impact, given the small number of registrations carried out in the last four years. |
| How will lessons learned in this ICIA inform future policy making and service delivery? | This ICIA will be retained as a reference point to inform future policy making and service delivery. |
| Step 7 – Publishing your ICIA | Response |
| Have you presented your ICIA in an Easy Read format? | No |
| Does it need to be presented in Gaelic or any other language? | No |
| Where will you publish your ICIA and will relevant stakeholders be able to easily access it? | On the Council’s website |
| Who will signoff your final ICIA and why? | Head of Service as per Council guidance. |
| ICIA completed by: | Hazel Flett |
| Position: | Service Manager (Governance) |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: | 13 December 2024. |
| ICIA approved by: | Gavin Mitchell |
| Position: | Head of Legal and Governance |
| Signature: | |
| Date complete: | 24 December 2024. |