Island impact assessments carried out after decisions in a third of cases

A third of island communities impact assessments completed by public bodies in the last two years were finalised after the relevant decision had been taken, according to a review of 210 assessments.

The statutory duty requires relevant authorities to assess the effect of a decision on island communities where it is likely to be significantly different from its effect elsewhere. The point of the duty is sequence: the assessment is meant to inform the decision.

In 71 of the 210 cases, it followed it.

What the assessments looked like

The review found the retrospective assessments were markedly shorter, cited fewer sources, and in 44 cases concluded that no significantly different effect on island communities was likely — a conclusion that, once a decision is made, requires no further action.

None of the 71 resulted in a decision being revisited.

“An assessment written after the fact is not an assessment. It is a summary with a form attached. The islands got a piece of legislation and what we have in practice is a filing exercise.”

A councillor in an island authority

Why it happens

Officials interviewed for the review gave broadly consistent explanations, and they were not defiant. Assessments require evidence and consultation, both of which take time, and decisions are frequently made against deadlines set elsewhere — a funding window, a procurement date, a ministerial timetable.

Faced with missing the deadline or completing the assessment afterwards, most chose the latter, and several said they had raised it internally and been told to proceed.

The recommendation

The review makes one, and it is procedural rather than punitive: that no decision engaging the duty may be signed off without the completed assessment attached to the papers.

This is how equalities assessments already work in most authorities, and requires no new legislation. It has been recommended twice before.