Issues and SWOT

strength

Build on experience of bringing homes back into use

The council reports previous delivery through its Empty Homes Project.

Reusing existing homes can support settlements beyond the main town.

Evidence

strength

Make room for homes people can afford

The average home price is £140,000 (July 2026) in Na h-Eileanan Siar council area. This is about £57,000 lower than the Scotland average for the same month.

Housing costs matter most alongside earnings and the number of affordable homes available. A local average cannot tell us whether a particular household can afford its home.

weakness

Show which island roads will improve

The Uist and Barra programme identifies road investment, not a completed network upgrade.

Residents need to know which routes and journeys are affected.

Evidence

opportunity

Design the campus around island access needs

Barra and Vatersay’s campus is supported in principle, subject to conditions.

Shared facilities could reduce fragmented journeys between services.

Evidence

opportunity

Plan homes and care around an older population

26.5% of people in Na h-Eileanan Siar council area were aged 65 or over (20 March 2022). People aged 65 or over ranged from 21.4% in Steòrnabhagh a Tuath to 32.8% in Na Hearadh — a gap of 11.4 percentage points.

Age alone does not mean poor health or a need for care. Accessible homes, reliable transport and support close to home matter as people get older.

opportunity

Connect local skills to local opportunities

31.2% of people aged 16 or over had a degree or higher (20 March 2022) in Na h-Eileanan Siar council area. People aged 16+ with no qualifications ranged from 13.7% in Loch a Tuath to 19.7% in An Taobh Siar agus Nis — a gap of 6.1 percentage points.

Qualifications show one part of the skills available locally. They do not show whether people have secure jobs or work that uses those skills.

opportunity

Target safety work where problems repeat

Recorded-crime figures cover the whole Na h-Eileanan Siar council area; they do not identify individual wards.

These are police-recorded crimes under Scottish counting rules. They cannot be ranked alongside the mapped incidents shown for other UK nations.

opportunity

Turn published plans into visible progress

4 named local projects or plans have official evidence in this collection.

A published plan makes responsibilities and intentions easier to inspect. It does not prove that funding is secured or that promised benefits have arrived.

threat

Keep conditional campus funding visible

The campus report makes funding subject to budgetary and business-case conditions.

The announcement is not an unconditional construction guarantee.

Evidence