Seòmar agus comataidhean

The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out Scottish Government’s long-term commitment to improving Scotland’s resilience to flooding, developed in direct response to the climate emergency and the increasing challenges posed by flood risk. The Strategy recognises the essential role of communities in strengthening local flood resilience, and that is why we continue to support the vital work the Scottish Flood Forum does.

Scottish Government provides funding to the Scottish Flood Forum to enable them to work with communities and local authorities across Scotland to help reduce the impacts of flooding. This funding supports the Forum to deliver immediate assistance to affected communities and to provide wider preparedness, response and recovery support. This includes property-level protection assessments, the establishment and ongoing support of community resilience groups in flood-risk areas, and engagement with local authorities to assist in the delivery of flood risk management plans and training on good practice. The Scottish Flood Forum also has a flood bus which showcases Property Flood Resilience measures, giving householders a hands-on way to see how products work, understand their relevance to their homes, and ask questions.

The Scottish Government views the Scottish Flood Forum as an important partner in the development of flood resilience policy. Part of the funding enables the Scottish Flood Forum to contribute its expertise to inform policy development, helping to improve outcomes for individuals and communities vulnerable to flooding.

Funding as set out in the following table:

The Energy Consents Unit(ECU)does not grant consent to renewable energy applications that were previously refused by local authorities.

The ECU administers applications made directly to the Scottish Ministers under Sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989.

When a local authority refuses an application made under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, the applicant is able to make an appeal to the Scottish Ministers.

The appeal process is administered by the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA), and the ECU has no role in this process.

The Rural and Islands Housing Fund aims to increase the supply of affordable housing of all tenures in rural Scotland. It has been operational since 2016 and provides capital grant, as well as feasibility funding to community groups, development trusts, private landowners and other established organisations to support the delivery of affordable homes in rural and island communities. The fund is open until March 2028 with a budget of up to £37 million. Applications from individuals are not eligible for the fund.

The Rural and Island Housing Grant Scheme is a recently announced proposal aimed at supporting individuals, including first time buyers, families, rural returners and others to access home ownership in the rural and island communities. The development of the scheme will be taken forward with rural partners and is intended to provide modest capital grants to help meet the cost of buying a home and supporting more properties to be used as permanent residencies. It has an indicative budget of up to £20 million over a four year period.

Guidance on the assessment of noise from onshore wind turbines across the UK is set out in the UK Government’s ETSU-R-97 guidance. The UK Government has recently consulted on an update to this guidance, with the aim of reflecting the latest evidence on turbine noise emissions, advancements in turbine technology, and current assessment methodologies. The UK Government is commencing the next phase of the work to update noise guidance and has advised that the current guidance remains suitable for assessing wind turbine noise in the meantime.

The Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 11 (Energy) requires that wind energy proposals demonstrate how potential impacts on communities and individual dwellings, including from noise, are assessed and mitigated as part of project design.

Screen Scotland’s Film Development and Production Fund has awarded the following sums to filmmakers based in the Highlands and Islands region, in each year since 2021:

2021-22 - £639,158

2022-23 - £84,000

2023-24 - £0

2024-25 - £0

2025-26 – data not yet available

Screen Scotland’s Professional Development Fund has awarded the following sums to applicants based in the Highlands and Islands region, in each year since 2021:

2021-22 - £0

2022-23 - £2,435

2023-24 - £1,015

2024-25 - £1,387

2025-26 – data not yet available

Screen Scotland continues to support filming and post-production activity across the Highlands and Islands. Recent projects supported by the Scottish Government via Screen Scotland which have filmed in the Highlands and Islands or completed elements of their post-production work in the region include the BAFTA Award-nominated feature film The Outrun (Orkney); TV series The Traitors (Easter Ross and the wider Highlands) and Karen Pirie (Argyll & Bute); as well as feature films Silent Roar (Na h-Eileanan Siar), Falling into Place (Skye), Harvest (Argyll & Bute) and The Incomer (Caithness) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year where it won the NEXT Innovator Award. The Netflix drama Department Q (which filmed partly in Caithness) and feature film Jack of Spades (Argyll & Bute) were attracted to film in Scotland in the last 24 months by Screen Scotland’s Production Growth Fund.

The Screen Scotland Screen Commission has also recently facilitated filming in the Highlands and Islands on productions including The Diplomat for Netflix (Argyll & Bute), the Star Wars series Ahsoka and Andor (Skye, Sutherland, and Argyll & Bute), and The Crown for Netflix (Badenoch & Strathspey).

Screen Scotland also supports a range of projects alongside BBC/MG ALBA each year. As well as part funding both series of An t-Eilean, Screen Scotland funded its predecessor An Clo Mor, the documentary projects produced by Stornoway-based Mac TV entitled Rain Stories, and Secrets of the Peat, and quiz show Mas Fhior.

Since 2022, Screen Scotland has supported The Highlands & Islands Training Programme, run by MG ALBA in partnership with Screen Scotland and the BFI Skills Cluster Fund, contributing circa £170k annually towards delivery of the programme. This six-month paid traineeship develops emerging talent in the film, TV, and digital media sectors from the Highlands & Islands, with a focus on Gaelic language, providing on-the-job experience across scripted drama, factual entertainment, and social media and digital-first projects.

Screen Scotland also supports the Young Film Foundation’s residential Screenwriting Lab on Skye.

Screen Scotland’s talent development programme Opening Shot is delivered by Stornoway and Glasgow-based production company Astar Media. The programme works with local community groups to deliver community engagement workshops and short film opportunities. Opening Shot is currently working with Highland Cinema in Fort William to support four filmmakers in producing short films with guidance from an experienced filmmaker. In addition, they are working with Moray Arts Development Engagement and Cairngorm Community Cinema to deliver community-based workshops in Elgin and Aviemore to 12 filmmakers.

The Potential Vulnerable Areas (PVAs) review identifies areas where the highest flood risk exists now or is likely to occur in the future, so is crucial in helping Scotland understand and prioritise where flood risk management work could be of most benefit to protect our communities.

However, this represents only a single stage within the broader six year flood risk management planning cycle, which commences with the National Flood Risk Assessment and culminates in the implementation of actions by councils in line with their local flood risk management plans. This cycle is set out in the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 and there are no plans to amend this.

The current PVAs were designated in December 2024 for use in the next Flood Risk Management cycle (2028-2033). They were developed and discussed with relevant responsible authorities and consulted on publicly. They will now be used by SEPA to set out objectives and actions in Flood Risk Management Plans (FRMPs) for those communities. These plans must be approved by Ministers, publicly consulted on and published.

Actions that support PVAs are therefore prioritised through FRMPs; however, this does not prevent local authorities and stakeholders from progressing other measures to address flooding in communities that are not designated as PVAs.

NatureScot has taken forward a range of actions following the 2025 Gull Summit in Inverness. This has included hosting four regional roundtable events to gather information to support local management approaches and inform further guidance.

In addition to this we have made £100,000 available to support area-based gull management by local authorities, including funding provided to Highland Council and additional funding for the Inverness Gull Management Pilot.

NatureScot is also developing gull survey methods at national and regional levels, the member will also be aware of the provisions in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 for NatureScot to report on gull species populations every five years.

A national awareness campaign was launched on 5 March 2026 to discourage the feeding of gulls, to secure waste and take measures to gull-proof properties and buildings.

NatureScot also continues to develop policy and procedures for area-based licensing, which ensures that licences are available where public health and safety is at risk as a result of gulls.

The Production Growth Fund aims to draw large-scale film and TV productions into Scotland; it does not directly target post-production or VFX work. Recent projects which were attracted to locate some or all of their production in the Highlands and Islands via the Production Growth Fund include the Netflix drama Department Q (which filmed partly in Caithness) and the feature film Jack of Spades (Argyll & Bute).

Post-production and VFX work is supported through Screen Scotland’s recently launched Project Post. This initiative was designed to help Scotland-based post-production facilities secure work that might otherwise go elsewhere. Screen Scotland is actively promoting the fund internationally to attract more business to Scotland. Any Scotland-based post-production or VFX facilities, including those in the Highlands and Islands, are encouraged to contact Screen Scotland to discuss how the Project Post fund could support their growth.