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A lot of work is going on in that area. We have talked a bit about the islands bond and how it might complement some of the other measures that we are looking at. Through the convention of the Highlands and Islands, we have a population working group, which works with the Scottish Government and the third sector. Francesco Sindico talked about the importance of collaboration. When we are dealing with issues such as this one, collaboration is absolutely critical.

In Government, we also have an expert group on population and migration, which was reconvened in March. Part of the group’s work involves looking at zonal methodologies. The group has been commissioned to scope that out, consider what the boundaries might be, and how they could be implemented and monitored. It is important that those aspects are considered.

Officials might want to touch on the work of the working group, but, before I hand over, I will highlight some of the other initiatives that we are working on. We have a ministerial task force on population, which is due to meet this month. That involves working across Government to consider all those issues.

We have also announced that we will be taking forward a rural visa pilot scheme. That was agreed by Sajid Javid when he was the Home Secretary, based on the recommendations of the Migration Advisory Committee. In countries all over the world, different means and methods are used in relation to migration. Therefore, we have established a working group to start to develop pilot proposals. The reasons behind depopulation are multifaceted and complex, so we need to ensure that we get to grips with all the data and try different initiatives to find a solution that will work for rural communities in Scotland.

I will hand over to the officials in case they have anything to add.

It is vital that we capture that innovation and listen to those ideas. If there is a different way to make things work, it is important that we consider that. It was brilliant to visit Colonsay and see the impact of that project. As I touched on in a previous response, the issue is not a lack of employment. The company there—I think it is Mowi—is investing in homes on the island, and the partnership between the three bodies is critical. The housing on Colonsay is transformative. The challenges with housing hit home when listening to the community. A woman spoke passionately about that: her family had lived on Colonsay for generations, but she was living in a caravan because the majority of homes are second homes and that is shutting young people out of accommodation, even though ample job opportunities are available. That is an exciting initiative.

Wherever we can, we will work with communities and businesses on that—more communities are looking at what they can do to deliver affordable housing, which is important. I want to make sure that we capture that innovation and the different ideas, and that we listen to communities about what will work and what can be delivered in those areas.

Yes, the intention is that the draft plan will be published by the end of this year and available for consultation at that point.

Again, I would have to check that with housing policy officials.

We committed to investment worth £30 million over five years to support the islands programme. We delivered the first part of that—about £9.5 million of investment—last year, and the programme worked over three different strands: the infrastructure investment fund; the communities fund, which communities could bid into for grants of up to £150,000; and the healthy islands fund, which involved just over £1 million of funding for projects that would help to support the health and wellbeing of people on our islands.

We have taken some of the learning from that and have listened to our local authority colleagues in shaping what the programme will look like this year. I was at the committee for the budget session at the start of this year, when we announced £4 million of funding for the programme. This year, it will be different; it will be done on the basis of competitive bids to the fund. That is based on the feedback that we received.

As for projects, I have already talked a bit about the work done in Kerrera and the impact that we have seen there. We have also committed infrastructure fund money to the Fair Isle Bird Observatory, and the rest of the funding available as part of that was allocated to the different island authorities.

The officials might want to come in and talk about some of the other projects that have fed through the different strands of the fund.

Unfortunately, I cannot give the committee a definite date for introducing that legislation. It is ultimately up to Parliament to decide that, but we have committed to it because we know that issues around crofting reform were raised in the most recent session of Parliament and we must address them. We are working on that and will introduce legislation at some point, but I cannot give the committee a definite date at the moment.

Ultimately, it is down to demand and the number of applications that we get to the croft house grant scheme. We have committed to maintaining and supporting the fund because we recognise that it is critical in helping to sustain our crofting communities.

I would be happy to come back to the committee with further information on the amount of funding that we have provided to crofters and how many people we have assisted through the croft house grant scheme, if that would be helpful.

Working with other bodies is absolutely critical in trying to overcome some of the issues. It is simply not possible for us to deliver the objectives and commitments that we have set out on our own or in isolation, and nor would we want to. It is important that we work with others, including local authorities, to overcome the issues.

Jenni Minto touched on the impact of Covid-19. Research on that issue that was undertaken by the James Hutton Institute identified many challenges, but one of the strengths was exactly the point that the member highlighted about the resilience and strong community bonds that exist.

I do not know whether my officials have anything to add on that work by the JHI.

Issues related to that have been considered through the strategic transport projects review, the consultation on which closed last month. As part of that work, there were proposals for fixed links at, I think, the sounds of Barra and Harris. There has been extensive engagement in relation to the development of those proposals, too, so they form part of the STPR.

The officials might have something to add on that point. Otherwise, I would be happy to get back to the committee with further information.