The Scottish Government was branded “urban-obsessed” after asking east coast council chiefs to help rule on funding for the islands.
It has emerged that almost all of the eight-strong “investment panel” established to evaluate grants from the £4 million Islands Programme are based in mainland cities.
Aberdeen City Council chief executive Angela Scott was one of the decision-makers, while another was Dundee City Council corporate services director Robert Emmott.
The remaining panel places were filled by three Scottish Government officials, two from the Scottish Futures Trust and one from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
Nicola Sturgeon’s government is now facing calls to expand the group amid fears it lacks island expertise.
The group was established in May by Mairi Gougeon, the rural affairs and islands secretary.
It collectively decided the final projects to be recommended for approval by ministers.
Ms Gougeon announced earlier this month that a total of 11 schemes, spread across 31 islands, were to receive a share of the Islands Programme money for this year.
They included a new visitor centre and EV charging points at Old Man of Storr, nine ‘island pit stops’ at Arran and Cumbrae providing better facilities for visitors, a new nursery at Kirkwall and an upgrade of sea front infrastructure at Tobermory.
Donald Cameron, Scottish Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, said ministers should consider expanding the investment panel.
“The suspicion right across Scottish islands is that the SNP is an urban-obsessed government which pays too much favour to the Central Belt,” he said.
“The appointment of this panel won’t do much to change those views.
“While I’m sure those sitting on this panel are talented and intelligent people, it does appear to be lacking when it comes to expertise in islands affairs.
“Given this panel will be so influential, I think the Scottish Government should consider opening it further to include more voices from the communities who are supposed to benefit from it all.”
The Scottish Government’s islands policy has been under the spotlight amid fears not enough is being done to stem depopulation.
Last month, ministers performed a U-turn on controversial plans to introduce a £50,000 bond to keep young families in island communities after a backlash.
The Islands Programme investment panel was chaired by Erica Clarkson, the Scottish Government’s head of islands policy and communities, and Nicola Crook, the government’s National Islands Plan Lead.
As well as Ms Scott and Mr Emmott, it also featured David Cowan, the head of the government’s Regeneration Unit, Neil Rutherford and Diarmaid Lawlor from the Edinburgh-based Scottish Futures Trust, and Douglas Cowan from HIE.
Mr Emmott, who grew up in Liverpool, worked at Western Isles Council before switching to Dundee City Council last year.
‘Transformational projects’
Amid a public spending squeeze, Ms Gougeon said in a letter to Holyrood’s rural affairs, islands and natural environment committee that the Islands Programme would be focussed in the future on “transformational projects”.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Membership of the investment panel aims to reflect the infrastructure focus of the programme, whilst ensuring that the uniqueness of our island communities is always taken into consideration.
“Members from Scottish Government have been selected due to their expertise in island policy and the external members are drawn from infrastructure facing organisations with experience of investment panel assessments.
“Our local authority partners have been appointed because while they now work for city authorities, they have considerable experience of island-based infrastructure projects with a proven track record of delivering for island communities.
“We are grateful for their participation in the investment panel.”
