Scotland’s teenage islanders worried about future housing needs

Kenny Macleod, convener of Western Isles local authority Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, said it was concerning some young islanders felt they did not have a choice but to move to the mainland.

The Scottish government said it had supported the delivery of more than 10,000 affordable homes across rural Scotland between April 2016 and March 2023, with more than 1,100 of them in island communities.

YIN is a network of community groups, external set up by Youth Scotland and funded by the Scottish government.

The project’s housing survey is still open, but Ms MacDonald said the interim report made worrying reading.

She said: “We’re getting 13-14 year olds who are saying ‘I don’t see a future for myself on the Island because of housing’.

“They shouldn’t even be thinking about housing.”

Ms MacDonald said the situation could make it harder for young islanders’ to make career choices.

She added: “There are young people that have done everything they can to put themselves in a place where they should have secure housing and they don’t.”