Rural Scotland People, Prosperity and Partnership

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The Rural Focus View of Progress on the Rural Framework themes:

• community involvement has increased. Better coordination and targeting of activity would help to ensure all areas and sectors are covered and community agents would be a useful way to encourage more communities to get involved in local issues;

• the diversity of rural businesses has improved. Continued support through training and advice is essential in order to encourage businesses to be flexible in the long term;

• the quality of Scottish produce continues to be high and opportunities still exist to market products on the basis of high environmental and animal welfare standards. Coordination of quality standards is important, to avoid confusing consumers.

• some progress has been made in adding local value to products, but opportunities remain particularly in the food processing and forestry sector. Advice is needed on the establishment of small businesses and to help them develop small-scale production systems that meet modern standards of hygiene and product safety;

• in effective service delivery there are good examples of joint funding, collaborative research and giving of information and advice. The potential for delivery of joint services, through sharing of premises, staff and information networks has yet to be fully realised and there is considerable scope for further progress here;

• advances in technology have gone some way to overcome the problems of remoteness in rural communities through improvements to networks and communications. There have been transport improvements too, but concerns remain about the increasing reliance of rural communities on private car ownership and maintaining public transport;

• Europe has offered both funding opportunities and a broader range of information and expertise to rural Scotland, as well as greater access to European markets for rural businesses. There is also greater control in terms of meeting environmental and health regulations and the UK Governments recognition of this factor in negotiations with the European Commission is welcomed;

• there is much happening in rural Scotland to promote the idea and practice of sustainable development and the progress made is welcome and encouraging.