Community development

The Scottish agriculture sector requires future funding certainty due to the long term nature of investment decisions and long lead-in time for farmers, crofters and land managers, says Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon.

Get ready for 2024!

The  sixth round of funding of the Ofgem Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme (Energy Redress Scheme) closed on 14 November 2023.   

People from around the world would be supported to live, work and raise families in Scotland’s rural and island communities in the event of independence, under Scottish Government proposals.

The latest ‘Building a New Scotland’ prospectus paper focuses on migration in an independent Scotland and sets out how a new Live in Scotland Visa would help to address depopulation in rural areas.

Village halls and community hubs are often the heart of rural and island communities. They are places for people to gather, learn, access services and have fun. Making sure they are well run and maintained is an important but not always easy role, often fulfilled by committed volunteers and workers.

The Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament (SRIP) is an important opportunity for voice of rural and island communities to help reinforce the importance of local democracy and to help shape the emerging Rural Delivery Plan. The theme of this year’s SRIP was Village Halls and Community Spaces.

The Scottish Land Commission is taking a groundbreaking step to ensure the well-being of local communities by introducing fresh guidelines that emphasise the importance of community-centred land use decisions.

The National Centre for Resilience (NCR) have announced that their ‘Community Councils Fund’ is open with applications closing on 31 January 2024.

The funding is for Community Councils to develop local resilience plans that address potential natural hazards such as heavy snow, landslides, high winds, and other disruptive events and subsequently enhance their local community preparedness and response to natural hazards.

Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has today launched a call for views to inform its consideration of the Scottish Government’s Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill.