A plan to help populate Scotland's islands by giving young people and families £50,000 has been scrapped following a backlash from locals.
The Scottish Government announced earlier today the scheme was not going ahead which it was hoped would have helped with depopulation in communities.
A consultation was launched by the government with "many" respondents living on the islands "were not convinced that the approach set out would achieve the objective of reversing population decline".
Those who said they are strongly against the concept feel it is "wrong in principle" and would be "open to abuse", describing it as a "sticking plaster" for the long-term issue of depopulation.
Others described the initiative as a "bribe" or a "gimmick" that could attract "the wrong people".
Many islanders said the bond would not address the underlying issues causing depopulation.
Following the publication of the consultation the government said it will focus on creating an action plan to address depopulation.
Mairi Gougeon, Rural Affairs and Islands Secretary, said the Island Bonds scheme was "never intended to be a silver bullet".
She added: "I would like to thank everyone who responded as part of the consultation process, and especially our island communities for their constructive feedback and suggestions. It is directly because of the feedback from islanders that we are changing our approach.
"The Islands Bond was never intended to be a silver bullet to address our island population challenges. Rather, it was just one element of our wider work, across all Scottish Government, to support our island communities.
"We will continue to address the issue of depopulation on our islands with our National Islands Plan commitment to develop an Action Plan to address this issue, with a draft publication in 2023.
"The learnings and suggestions gathered through the Islands Bond consultation will be used to shape a range of Practical Policy Tests to inform this Action Plan.
"Additionally, we are investing £8.3 million this year to deliver the National Islands Plan and critical infrastructure projects based on local priorities.
"Consultation with communities who are directly impacted by the introduction of new policies or strategies is a crucial part of policy development.
"Taking the decision demonstrates our continued commitment to listen to island communities and ensure policy is delivered in collaboration with them, rather than to them."
'Eye-catching gimmick'
Rachael Hamilton, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, said if the SNP wanted to address the priorities of islanders then it would "sort out the ferries fiasco"
She added: "This ditched scheme, trumpeted in the SNP’s manifesto, turns out – like so many of their policies – to have been no more than an eye-catching gimmick.
"The moment it was properly examined it became clear that it was a half-baked, ill-thought-out waste of taxpayers’ money unpopular with most islanders.
"As many pointed out, it would have been a short-term fix that would do little to reverse the SNP Government’s longstanding neglect and underfunding of local services, particularly in rural areas.
"If the SNP genuinely wanted to address islanders’ priorities, it would have sorted out the ferries fiasco it created, and focus funding on the urgent cost of living crisis, education, health and jobs, rather than distractions like this."
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