Addressing depopulation on Scotland’s islands

A consultation seeking the views of people from across Scotland on the proposed Islands Bond has been published.

The Islands Bond aims to tackle population decline across the Scottish islands and provide funding to help people stay on or move to the islands.

The consultation will run for 12 weeks and has been launched to ensure that the Bond provided is meaningful and works for all the islands.

Background

The consultation will run from 2 August 2021 until 24 October 2021.

Development of the Islands Bond consultation

The proposed outline of the Islands Bond:

• The bond will be a £5 million fund across the lifetime of the parliament
• The bond value will be up to £50,000
• Capital funding will be made available to young people and families to stay in or move to islands currently threatened by depopulation
• Bonds issued will support people to buy, build or renovate homes, start businesses and otherwise make their lives for the long-term in island communities