DELIVERY MECHANISMS

One of the issues that all consultees were asked to consider were the mechanisms for delivering rural policies and programmes in Scotland. This was in the context of information about the workings of the Rural Focus Group, local government reorganisation and the requirement for the new authorities to prepare decentralisation plans. Although it was difficult to achieve a consensus around the nature of the problems with the existing mechanisms there was general agreement that there were shortcomings at present. In particular the following were identified as requiring attention:

• lack of strategic integration; particularly at the regional level which is increasingly the key delivery level for most government agencies and local authorities.

• integration is made more difficult in the absence of national and regional strategies that the various parties could sign up to. Local people, businesses and other interests also found it difficult to understand what precisely the government were attempting to achieve in rural Scotland because of this lack of a strategic approach and;

• although more resources were seen as one answer to the problem, the discussions focused on the more effective use and targeting of existing resources. For this to be achieved there needed to be more effective delivery mechanisms that incorporated an integrated partnership approach.

A number of ideas emerged as to how mechanisms could be improved at the regional level. Perhaps the most interesting was about the key role that could be played by the local authorities in facilitating regional and local partnerships to prepare appropriate strategies and action plans. There were suggestions that the new authorities should be required to prepare rural strategies for their areas as they are required to produce housing plans. One of the advantages of the local authorities playing a leading role was their interaction with the broad cross section of rural communities, businesses and other interests. It was agreed that such an approach could also enable local voluntary sector organisations and bodies representing local communities to participate effectively.

There was more difficulty in establishing a consensus about appropriate mechanisms at the national level to establish and deliver rural policy and programmes. While there were some suggestions that a Rural Development Commission should be established for Scotland there was a general feeling that no more organisations should be set up outside existing structures. There was general agreement, however, that the mechanism at the Scottish level needed to focus on integration while achieving delivery through the established organisations particularly at the regional and local levels.

A number of ideas were put forward, building on the existing Rural Focus Group. It has to be emphasised, however, that there was very little understanding of how the Rural Focus Group operated and what, in its present form, it could achieve. It was seen, however, as having the potential to oil the wheels of partnership and integration and establish rural development priorities in terms of areas, activities and client groups. The key to being effective in a co-ordination role was seen as being able to determine strategic priorities, and having the financial muscle to ensure the bodies responsible for delivery worked in partnership on these priorities.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

During the various elements of the consultation, community involvement emerged as one of the areas where progress needed to be made. This was very closely related to the issues of integration, improved mechanisms and partnerships, these being seen as the fundamental requirements to facilitate effective community involvement. The point was made many times that community involvement strategies needed to be devised and applied collectively between the various agencies and authorities. Community involvement could not be left to be taken forward individually by local authorities, government agencies, health boards and so on as this could create confusion, frustration and cynicism.

Another point that was made repeatedly was the need for community involvement to be stimulated, supported and networked, so that to ensure local communities could establish and pursue their own agendas, while at the same time going with the grain of policies and budgets of public authorities. Community involvement also needed to be supported through training, the provision of information and the removal of barriers (for example lack of childcare). There was also a strong feeling that too much reinvention of the wheel was taking place particularly at the community level. There was frustration that it was difficult to make connections between communities in different parts of the country perhaps experiencing similar problems but coming up with innovative ways of addressing these problems.

The logic of the approach emerging from the discussions on integration was that local authorities could play a leading role in facilitating, if not necessarily organising, effective community involvement across a wide range of agencies. The use of local animators or field workers was discussed and the needs for mechanisms to network these individuals was highlighted.

POLICY REVIEW

The rural economy was seen of fundamental importance to the future of rural Scotland. In particular the need for more high quality employment opportunities for young people and graduates was felt to be most pressing. There was a concern that the enterprise networks were placing too much emphasis on the trickle down of prosperity and employment from the urban centres and that there needed to be a tailored approach to developing the rural economy, realising the many opportunities that exist in rural areas. While there was a concern about the future of traditional industries such as agriculture, forestry and tourism, there were seen to be opportunities to improve income levels. There was frustration that these issues were addressed by the public agencies in a highly sectoral way that did not make the connections and provide the basis to realise the opportunities that exist. There was some concern that Scottish Enterprise did not have a specifically rural strategy and range of rural programmes to address the needs and opportunities in rural areas. This was contrasted with Scottish Homes which had developed tailored rural policies and programmes.

While training was not frequently raised, there were comments that there was a poor match between training provision and employment opportunities. In particular, there was a feeling that training needed to be directed at creating high quality jobs rather than merely a large number of trained individuals.

Perhaps the policy area of greatest concern was service delivery. This covered issues such as health, shopping, local government services and so on. It is very difficult to draw any consensus out of the discussions on service delivery. There were clear differences between the view that people should be taken to the services as opposed to the service being taken to people in rural areas and the debate about locally accessible services and access to high quality services. The latter issue was seen as particularly relevant in the field of health and other basic services.

Given the range of views expressed the most appropriate approach might be to develop local strategies with the participation of local people on how best service delivery might be improved. There were, however, a number of principles that participants felt should be applied. In particular, equality of service between urban and rural situations. Which applied especially to basic services. It was felt that innovative methods of delivery should be developed and piloted for wider dissemination. The mechanism of rural demonstration areas has been used by Scottish Homes and it would appear to be one way of developing and disseminating good practice more generally on rural development. A wide range of ideas that came forward during the workshops and seminars could be investigated through such rural demonstration areas perhaps facilitated by the local authorities in a co-ordinating role at the local level.

Transport was seen as an important issue that needed to be addressed in rural Scotland. There was a general concern that this issue was not being adequately addressed by existing authorities and agencies. The opportunities to reduce the need to travel by making effective use of new technology and one-stop shops was also highlighted. In particular, ideas were brought forward for using schools, post offices, banks and other local facilities as information points.

While environmental and land use issues did not figure very highly in the discussions there was clearly great value placed upon the quality of the environment and maintaining that quality. There was concern that the environment had deteriorated through inappropriate forestry and agricultural practices encouraged by external factors. It was felt that the future of many rural communities depended upon sustainable development given the reliance on industries such as tourism and agriculture. There was also a view that in Less Favoured Areas farmers and landowners were responsible for looking after the land and the landscape and that this required to be properly funded. There was concern at the difficulties local communities and individuals had in gaining access to the land resource to develop their local economies. There was considerable frustration at the difficulties experienced in many communities in acquiring land for housing or small tourism related developments and a view that this difficulty contributed to continuing decline, loss of young people and often inappropriate land management.

One of the issues most frequently raised was that of rural disadvantage, social exclusion and poverty. There was considerable concern that these issues were being tackled in urban areas but not in rural areas and that resources had to be made available. There were suggestions that there should be a rural aid fund with priorities established at a Scottish level aimed at both geographical areas and priority client groups such as the young or the elderly. It was also felt that this should be delivered through existing mechanisms co-ordinated at the local level by local authorities. It was also felt that the lack of a social remit on the part of the Scottish Enterprise network placed lowland Scotland at a disadvantage to the Highlands and Islands Enterprise network area.

The planning and development control policies of local authorities were considered by many to inhibit rural development. Positive planning, allowing people to use their homes to run businesses and develop new housing, was considered a key to keeping young people in rural areas in affordable housing and having the opportunity to obtain quality employment. The policies adopted by West Lothian District Council, for example, on lowland crofting were mentioned in this regard.

PRIORITY ISSUES FOR THE RURAL WHITE PAPER

• The consultation raised a large number of issues that might be addressed in the White Paper. There are a number of consistent priorities that emerged through the series of questionnaires, workshops and seminars and these are:

• improved integration at the national and regional levels;

• mechanisms to achieve effective community involvement;

• the need to tackle rural disadvantage with resources targeted at client groups (for example, the young) and possibly geographical areas;

• the need to create more opportunities for local people and businesses to obtain access to the land and natural resources in their locality;

• the preparation of local rural strategies and action plans facilitated by the new unitary local authorities in partnership with public agencies and local communities;

• the need to encourage and facilitate innovation in rural development;

• the creation and support of mechanisms and networks for the issemination of good practice and information;

• a more enabling planning system to help create more, and better, housing and employment opportunities.