Section 2 - Data and stakeholders

What data is available about the current situation in the islands?

The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 identifies six local authorities representing island communities in Part 4 of the Act (Section 20 (2)): Argyll and Bute Council, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar/Western Isles, Highland Council, North Ayrshire Council, Orkney Islands Council and Shetland Islands Council.

Eilean Siar, Orkney and Shetland are entirely island authorities. Argyll and Bute, Highland and North Ayrshire local authorities include island regions in addition to mainland regions.

In June 2025, there were 6,095 practising social workers working in local authorities.² In 2024, the headcount of social workers in fieldwork settings in the six local authorities representing island communities was as follows:

The density of the 2024 workforce, measured as the number of social workers in social work fieldwork services per 100,000 population, was as follows:

The Scotland-wide density figure is 119.1 per 100,000.³

National Islands Plan Annual Report 2024⁴

As part of the National Islands Plan, the Scottish Government has engaged with island and rural localities to ensure delivery of the Scottish Child Interview Model. This is a trauma-informed model of practice aiming to minimise the risk of further traumatisation and improving planning and interview techniques in order to achieve best practice. Following conversations with practitioners and managers in island communities, the National Joint Investigative Interviews (JII) Team has created a bespoke online discussion forum for staff members to share learning and offer peer support.

One of the commitments in the 2024 Annual Report is to work with health boards, local authorities, and health and social care partnerships to ensure there is fair and accessible health and social care for those living on islands. This work will link in with a wider Rural and Island Workforce Recruitment Strategy to provide the necessary help to employers. A National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Social Care was established in 2023 to improve service provision and understand the needs of rural and island areas.

Two models of integration authority are used: an integration joint board (IJB) or a lead agency model. Currently, Highland is the only area that has adopted the lead agency model, with all other areas in Scotland establishing an IJB.

Where the health board and local authority agree to establish an IJB, they must, at a minimum, delegate to it: adult social care, primary and community adult healthcare services, and unscheduled hospital care for adults. Further services can also be delegated: children’s health services, children’s social care services and justice social work. In Highland, the lead agency model has seen NHS Highland assume responsibility for Adult Health and Social Care Service; while Highland Council assumes responsibility for Children’s Health and Social Care Services.

The following table identifies where services, beyond the minimum required, have been delegated. As the table highlights, the IJBs representing island communities, have generally achieved a higher degree of health and social care integration⁵, along with Highland: Argyll and Bute, Eilean Siar, North Ayrshire, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands.

Table showing delegation of services

SSSC-COSLA Vacancies Report 2025⁶

The report presents findings from a six-monthly survey of social work services in local authorities, captured in summer 2025. The survey captured information about vacancies for practising social workers and hard to fill vacancies. The overall vacancy rate across all local authorities was 8.9%. All but one of the local authorities representing island communities had a higher than average vacancy rate:

For the 26 local authorities that were having problems filling vacancies, five of them said that the rural/remote location of the post was the reason.

CSWO annual report summary

The 2023/24 summary report⁷ of the Chief Social Work Officer Annual Reports highlighted challenges with recruitment of the social work workforce in rural and island locations, including: Argyll and Bute, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Dumfries and Galloway, Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands. 

There are several reasons why these areas face barriers to recruiting and retaining staff members. The population sizes and demographics (growing numbers of older people, alongside shrinking numbers of those of working age) have made it a challenge to recruit from within the local community. A lack of affordable housing coupled with the expense of living in rural and island areas also means it is difficult to attract people into the community.

Rural locations also face several other challenges impacting their workforce and ability to deliver social work services:

• reliance on agency workers: this is a direct consequence of the recruitment and retention issues faced and is a concern in terms of sustainability, consistency and affordability
• reduced capacity: having smaller local authorities and health and social care partnerships can make it difficult to undertake the range and scope of requirements
• limited funding: it is particularly expensive to provide social work services in rural areas with sparse populations, meaning any cuts to funding are proportionally harder to deal with
• managing national guidance and proposed changes: it is more difficult for an island authority to deal with a new service or structural change due to the limited nature of island demographics, e.g. the Scottish Child Interview Model requires a minimum number of interviews to be accredited
• Conditions: any major incidents involving inclement weather and other challenging events are likely to be felt harder in rural and island communities, e.g. Shetland reported three major incidents involving snow and the cutting of subsea cable⁸

National Islands Plan Survey 2020⁹

The Scottish National Islands Plan Survey (2020) provides in-depth insights into island communities. As the NSWA will oversee professional learning and career pathways, the design must prevent any region-specific barriers to access. 

Responses to the general survey question around access to professional training while living on an island found that 19% across the islands ‘strongly disagreed’ or ‘disagreed’ with the question, “If I wanted to, I could access professional training while living here (online or in person)”. Insight specifically into access to professional learning for social workers could be gathered and best practice shared.

Iriss’s (2019) Insight report, ‘Rural Social Work in Scotland’¹⁰ found that rural social work in Scotland lacks academic attention, dedicated research and a robust evidence base. The research identified that particular social work skills and knowledge are required to meet the needs of rural communities and that practice needs to build on the assets of a typical rural community, including people and place, familiarity and shared knowledge, and a tradition of mutual aid. Practice should be based on generalist and ecological styles of practice. This includes strong networking built on local knowledge, continuity and trust, and managing relationships across professional and non-professional settings.

Who are our stakeholders?

Our stakeholders are:

• Argyll and Bute Council
• Argyll and Bute Integration Joint Board
• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
• Highland Children and Young People’s Forum
• Highland Council
• Highland Third Sector Interface
• North Ayrshire Council
• North Ayrshire Integration Joint Board
• North Ayrshire Third Sector Interface
• Orkney Alcohol and Drugs Partnership
• Orkney Council
• Orkney Integration Joint Board
• Police Scotland Highland Public Protection Chief Officer Group
• Shetland Integration Joint Board
• Shetland Islands Council
• Shetland Partnership, Management and Leadership Team
• Shetland Public Protection Committee
• Social Work and Social Care Advisory Committee: NHS Highland
• Social Work Scotland: Highland and Island Subgroup

How does any existing data differ between islands?

Data limitations

The vast majority of data collected via official statistics is available at the local authority level. This means that a lot more data is available for the three island local authorities (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Orkney Council and Shetland Council). Even for these three island authorities, however, the data does not differentiate and smaller islands and larger islands, where a lot of the population is concentrated.

Very little data is available for island communities within larger local authority areas that also encompass mainland Scotland. This affects the data available for island communities in Argyll and Bute, Highland and North Ayrshire; as well as in Perth and Kinross, Stirling, and West Dunbartonshire.

This means that a lot of the above data, where it is collected on local authority level, may not accurately capture experiences with social care in smaller island communities.

Are there any existing design features or mitigations in place?

Financial island allowances, already in place for the workforce, constitute an effective mitigation and are expected to continue in the future.

Local areas will have appropriate planning and measures in place to ensure services fit the needs of people in their community.

Additional mitigation will be improved access to training within the islands. In turn, this will improve retention by making it easier for local people to start and develop their careers without having to move to the mainland to do so.