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5 TACKLING RURAL POVERTY
5.1 Our discussions with national and local stakeholders covered local initiatives, support services and suggested solutions and these are presented in this chapter.
5.2 Improving the experiences of people living in poverty in rural areas may involve developing targeted solutions to tackle particular issues and several were proposed in our workshops.
Transport
5.3 A key issue for all of the vulnerable groups, public transport in rural areas exacerbates many of the problems faced by people living in poverty. Workshop participants suggested that a more flexible approach is needed in providing public transport and ideas included:
- increased subsidies for transport providers to ensure that the needs of the community are being met;
- free community transport for pensioners and disabled people; and
- increase the number of transport services between rural areas.
Support Services
5.4 Workshop participants, many of whom are service providers, felt that providing services in rural areas could be improved greatly if key organisations work together. This would lead to more efficiency in terms of resources but could also make services more effective. For example, GP services could host outreach services from other healthcare providers, benefits advice and other support organisations. Local GP practices are used by the whole community and by having outreach services within practices, the stigma or embarrassment associated with seeking support may be reduced.
5.5 A further suggestion was that village halls could be used more for drop-in services and that service providers could join-up to reduce travel costs and, therefore, reduce the cost per head of service delivery (which is often much higher in rural areas).
5.6 Flexible approaches to service delivery are needed in rural areas and participants felt that mobile services could offer a good alternative for people who cannot afford to or are unable to travel. Banks already offer mobile services in rural areas and participants felt that this must be a realistic option for other support providers including the Post Office.
Technology
5.7 With increased costs of delivering services experienced by public and voluntary sector service providers, participants felt that the internet could play a key role in getting key information to the people that need it. Organisations including Age Concern and Shelter already have information and advice on their websites for vulnerable groups and this is felt to be successful.
5.8 Several participants agreed that more information and advice available on the internet would be beneficial. However, poor broadband connections in many rural areas and the cost of IT equipment may lead to many people being unable to access key information and advice. To overcome this, participants suggested that local schools could be used more effectively. Extending the opening hours of local schools and inviting local people to use the resources available there would make computers and the internet more accessible for the whole community.
5.9 Several workshop participants felt that more innovative approaches are needed in tackling the problems associated with living in rural areas and that using existing resources and infrastructure provides a good opportunity to improve people's lives at a fairly manageable cost for service providers.
Evidencing Rural Poverty
5.10 Improving the evidence base on rural poverty was a key issue for several national and local consultees who feel that there is a lot of hidden poverty in rural areas. More detailed statistical evidence would be welcomed by stakeholders who feel that current data does not highlight the problems sufficiently.
5.11 Participants report that in rural areas there are many examples of wealthy people and people in poverty living side by side, making it increasingly difficult to identify households living in poverty. Because of this, participants felt that the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation ( SIMD) is not an inappropriate tool for making local funding decisions.
5.12 Participants stated the opinion that SIMD is more suited as an urban measure, and that it does not help to identify areas or levels of poverty in rural areas. This finding suggests that there is a lack of understanding about the purpose of the index. 35
5.13 Short-term funding for long-term issues was highlighted as a particular problem and this is not unique to the rural setting. Community groups in rural areas are reported to struggle in gaining revenue grants for projects which is causing frustration and leading to many projects being unable to continue.
Public, Private and Voluntary Sectors
5.14 Many consultees felt that the public, private and voluntary sectors all have an important role in tackling poverty in rural areas. Whilst each sector has a particular role to play, participants also felt that there could be more joint working to take advantage of economies of scale, particularly given the cost of service delivery in rural areas.
5.15 In terms of housing, it is felt that the public sector should support more affordable housing and associated initiatives such as shared equity housing. There is a fear amongst several participants that rural areas will lose out in terms of housing development due to the desire for large-scale developments that are not appropriate or required in remote rural areas in particular. Small-scale developments should be encouraged to meet the needs of local residents but also to encourage greater inward investment to rural areas.
5.16 Private rented housing in rural areas was of some concern to workshop participants. Low quality private rented accommodation that is energy inefficient causes particular problems for those on low incomes. Participants suggested that the Scottish Government should work more closely with private landlords to encourage housing improvements to be made.
5.17 More widely, it is felt that voluntary sector services providing information, advice and support could have a greater presence in rural areas. Support services for disabled people, those with mental ill health and single parents are less prevalent in rural areas and these often provide invaluable support to people at difficult times. Greater input from the voluntary sector to run support groups would benefit those living in poverty. Workshop participants felt that some vulnerable groups would benefit from activities such as day outings, lunch clubs and social activities that are often provided by voluntary organisations.
5.18 Workshop participants recognised that the voluntary sector has limited resources and is increasingly centralising services to urban areas. It was felt that increasing resources to the voluntary sector or encouraging pooling of resources and a joined up approach between voluntary organisations or between voluntary and statutory organisations could help to improve service delivery in rural areas.
5.19 Greater inward investment by small-medium sized companies is felt to be important in generating new opportunities for people living in rural areas, particularly those who are not in work. Consultees felt that the Government could offer support or incentives to small-medium enterprises to move into rural areas. Further, the role of social enterprises was discussed in workshops and participants felt that social enterprises could have a key role in delivering services and support in rural areas and that more incentives should be used to encourage this.
Policy
5.20 In developing initiatives and policy solutions to tackle poverty in rural areas, workshop participants emphasised the need for policies to be 'rural proofed' or assessed for 'rural impact'. Tailoring policies and service delivery to the rural environment is felt to be fundamental with a strong view stated that 'one size does not fit all'.
5.21 The solutions discussed by workshop participants covered both national and local level actions that could be implemented to help improve the lives of those living in poverty. There is recognition that many of the solutions are locally based and, therefore, become the responsibility of local authorities. The Scottish Government is felt to be important in encouraging the development of local solutions and workshop participants felt that encouraging rural outcomes through Single Outcome Agreements would be an effective way of ensuring that rural issues are being considered at a local level.
5.22 In summary, workshop participants identified possible solutions to local problems experienced by those living in poverty. Innovation and flexibility are important in tackling issues of distance, cost of travel and worker/client ratios. Greater joint working by service providers and incentivising initiatives in rural areas could provide the impetus at the local level to meet the challenges of service delivery.
5.23 It is recognised that rural areas across Scotland differ and that people living in poverty in rural areas - both remote and accessible - have different support needs depending on local circumstances. Therefore, it is suggested, based on participants comments, that locally tailored solutions are needed against a backdrop of national incentives and support.
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