The Scottish Office (Back)

TOWARDS A DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY FOR RURAL SCOTLAND
 
SECTION 3 - STRUCTURES AND PRINCIPLES
84. We now turn to consider what structures are needed to maximise the opportunities for Government and rural communities, working together, to achieve sustainable development in the face of the challenges which lie ahead. Partnerships figure large in the legacy of the previous Government. The new Government believes that partnerships have a potentially important role to play in delivering sustainable development for rural Scotland, but wishes to scrutinise the reality of how effectively partnerships are working with a view to making improvements.
More Effective Partnerships
85. The Government believes that all Government Departments, agencies, local authorities, the private and voluntary sectors, and local communities must work together if the overall aims of rural policy are to be achieved. Partnership has a vital role to play at both national and local level. There are many organisations and individuals active in rural areas and all have a part to play. Various partnerships have been operating in both rural and urban Scotland for some time. The organisation and work of these have varied according to need: some have operated in a highly structured way to deliver specific outcomes, while others work on a much more informal basis. The Government wishes to ensure that the role and structure of rural partnerships are right in order to deliver sustainable development.
86. The National Rural Partnership was established in 1996 for the purpose of providing advice to Government on the co-ordination and implementation of rural policy. It includes representatives of Government Departments, agencies, local authorities and the private and voluntary sectors, all of which are working in rural Scotland and are concerned for its future. During its first year the National Rural Partnership was primarily concerned with the establishment of the Rural Partnership Fund and implementation of the new Rural Challenge Fund. The Rural Challenge Fund has generated a lot of good quality applications, typically for relatively small scale projects which cut across the responsibilities of the main sectoral funding agencies. Awards totalling £1.2 million over three years were announced in August 1997. The National Rural Partnership also aims to promote discussion on important rural policy matters, and has organised seminars on subjects such as transport, natural resource-based economic opportunities, and rural crime. It also has a role in encouraging the formation of local rural partnerships and issuing guidance on issues such as effective partnership working, local transport issues and involving rural communities. The agreed work programme of the National Rural Partnership for 1997-98 is at Annex 1.
87. The Government intends to build on the work of the National Rural Partnership in promoting a shared vision of the overall aims for rural development in Scotland, and a more integrated approach to rural policy. We proposed to extend the role of the National Rural Partnership by asking it to concentrate on the following areas:--
  • providing advice on request to the Government on particular policy issues of key importance to rural Scotland. The first such issues will be identified by the Government in the light of the responses to this discussion paper.
  • generating innovative ideas on its own initiative for the Government's consideration on ways of achieving sustainable rural development.
  • providing a leadership role by disseminating information and advice to local rural partnerships and local communities in rural Scotland with a view to enabling local people to learn from the experience of others in promoting their own rural sustainable development.
88. 27 local rural partnerships have been set up over the last year and a half, varying considerably in their area coverage and membership. Most are chaired by the local authority, and typically include the local enterprise company, and representatives at local level of agencies such as SNH and Scottish Homes. The involvement of the private and voluntary sectors, and of local communities, varies widely. Many of the partnerships plan to develop a local rural development strategy for the area, and the Government endorses such moves towards partnership working and a more integrated approach.
89. A number of other local partnerships operate in many rural areas, such as LEADER Local Action Groups set up under the EU Community Initiative to promote community-based rural regeneration. Local monitoring committees also operate in parts of rural Scotland which benefit from Objective 1 or 5b status under the EU Structural Funds.
90. The Government believes that the concept of local rural partnerships is a good one, but that changes are needed to make them more effective:
  • a clearer purpose for local rural partnerships needs to be established. The Government's view is that there is a need for strategic rural partnerships bringing together the main public sector bodies in a broad area to plan an overall strategy and to establish a mechanism for the joint funding of programmes and projects; but that in addition to such strategic partnerships there is a need to encourage community partnerships at very local level (along the lines of that established at Laggan) to put forward ideas and proposals to the strategic rural partnerships.
  • too many of the existing local rural partnerships lack real local community involvement. A mechanism must be found so that greater community involvement becomes a reality. One approach might be to stimulate local communities to form community partnerships at very local level to generate their own plans and priorities, perhaps along the lines being discussed in Dumfries and Galloway, which could then be brought to the strategic rural partnership on which would be represented all the key public sector bodies with resources to implement the plans.
  • in some rural areas there are several separate local partnerships, often with overlapping membership, and there may be scope for rationalisation and reduced bureaucracy. At the very least, it is essential that partnerships work closely together and do not duplicate, or even worse undermine, each other's work. Rationalisation towards a system of strategic rural partnerships and community partnerships, on the lines outlined above, may be the way forward. The National Rural Partnership will be issuing further guidance on this subject, following a research project undertaken for them by Rural Forum.
  • local rural partnerships are a potentially important conduit by which the views of those living in rural areas can be made known to Government. This role has not yet been developed much, and the Government plans to ask the National Rural Partnership to give further thought in consultation with local rural partnerships to how such a "bottom-up" channel of communication can best be established.
91. The Government would welcome views on the future role of the National Rural Partnership, and how local rural partnerships can be made more effective, in delivering the overall policy aim of sustainable development in rural Scotland.
A More Integrated Approach
92. The importance of an integrated approach to the needs of rural Scotland arises in a number of contexts, and at both national and local levels. First, when policy is being formulated it is essential that narrow objectives are not pursued in isolation from broader policy aims. Secondly, in the delivery of policy, there are often opportunities for joint working between different organisations or innovative ways of sharing facilities or resources in the better interest of those who live in rural areas.
93. At Scottish level, the existence of the Secretary of State for Scotland and The Scottish Office, who have responsibility for a wide range of functions, has potentially great advantages for following an integrated approach - compared with the position in England where there are many different Departments, responsible to a number of Secretaries of State. This advantage will be reinforced by the new Scottish Parliament which will provide strengthened democratic accountability. This is of particular value for rural development policy, where the things that matter to rural people range through issues such as transport, education, agriculture, forestry, tourism, health and housing.
94. Even with such advantages, a truly integrated and effective approach is much easier to say than to do. One means of helping the process is to be clear about the overall aims for rural Scotland to which each individual policy sector should be contributing. Only then can we measure the effectiveness of policy. This is why the Government's clear statement on the overall aim of sustainable development, with its 3 main objectives, economic, social, and environmental, is an important step forward. Another way of assisting integration is through setting up structures which encourage joint working. The Scottish Parliament is an excellent example of this. In the interim period before the Scottish Parliament is established, the Government is establishing a new inter-Departmental Committee for Rural Affairs within The Scottish Office to co-ordinate rural policy in support of sustainable development.
95. There is a need to simplify and rationalise access to public support in the various spheres of rural action. This does not necessarily mean more expenditure, rather it means more effective expenditure. Very large sums of public money are already spent in rural areas (some £400 million a year in agricultural support - mainly through the CAP - in direct assistance alone). But much of the existing expenditure is not targeted in the best way to achieve our overall policy aims. Too much makes little contribution to local development and goes into increased land values or consumption - expenditures which are not the most effective way of helping rural communities. Changing this position is a major challenge, since many areas of spending (eg the CAP) are outwith our direct control, but we are determined to make the effort. The Government's approach to reform of the CAP and EU Structural Funds has been described above.
96. Bringing about a more effective targeting of expenditure is not just a matter of EU policies. The Scottish Office budget, which will be controlled by the new Scottish Parliament from 2000, is presently in excess of £14 billion. This ranges from major educational, health and road programmes to support for village halls. We must use that to better effect, by ensuring that all our sectoral programmes take full account of the different circumstances of rural Scotland, and of the needs and priorities of local communities within rural Scotland. The new Government has commissioned a series of Comprehensive Spending Reviews covering all public expenditure programmes, and The Scottish Office Reviews will examine the scope for a more integrated approach to delivering rural policy objectives. The Government, through the National Rural Partnership, is also commissioning a major piece of research which will examine the contribution which different sectoral policies make to the overall aims of rural policy with a view to improving integration and the effectiveness of policy delivery.
97. The need for integration also applies at local level. A variety of organisations are involved in delivering services in rural areas including, for example, the local Council's roads, education and social work departments, the health authorities, the police, and Scottish Homes. While each has different statutory functions, it is important that, wherever possible, they should adopt an integrated approach to particular issues, rather than seeking to pull in opposite directions. Local strategies prepared by local rural partnerships are a means of encouraging this outcome. The National Rural Partnership is publishing today further guidance on the preparation of effective local rural strategies to achieve overall policy aims.
98. The Government would welcome views on how best to further an integrated approach at both national and local levels to achieving sustainable development in rural Scotland, and what the role of the National Rural Partnership and local rural partnerships might be in this process.
Flexibility to Meet Rural Circumstances
99. Policies should be sufficiently flexible to take account of the particular circumstances of rural Scotland, and of different areas within rural Scotland. The Government aims to ensure that these distinctive circumstances are reflected both at the policy formulation and policy delivery stages. The new inter-Departmental Committee within The Scottish Office will have an important part to play in this prior to the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.
100. There are, however, significant constraints. A number of major policy areas of great importance to rural Scotland are decided at EU level, for example the Common Agricultural Policy and Common Fisheries Policy. The Government will use its influence at European level to argue the case for the needs of rural Scotland, and use the discretion available to it in particular policy fields so that policies are tailored to the circumstances of rural areas. There may sometimes be conflicts between over-riding national objectives and the implications for rural areas. For example, the Government's commitments to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases, and more sustainable energy use, many have the effect of raising costs in rural areas. In such cases, the Government is committed to take full account of the circumstances of rural areas before taking decisions. The National Rural Partnership could play an important part in raising awareness of the circumstances and needs of rural areas, and ensuring that these are brought to the attention of the Government.
101. The Government's determination to pursue flexible, sensitive policies, has already been reflected in the decision on National Parks, where it has been made clear that arrangements should be tailored to the particular circumstances of different areas. Flexibility should also operate in relation to the ability to make policy changes over time, in cases where circumstances on the ground have changed. A key factor is good communication between local and national levels, and strengthened links between the National Rural Partnership and local rural partnerships could play a useful role here.
102. The Government would welcome views on which policies need particular attention in order to ensure that policies are sufficiently flexible to take account of the different circumstances of rural areas, and what changes in policy to meet the needs of rural areas are required.