Breadcrumbs
NCAF 16/6 Diversity Review
Rural White Paper
2. The Rural White Paper (2000) commits Government to addressing the issue of equity in relation to access to the countryside, whether it is near or distant to where people live. It reads ( p.138):
'By 2005, we will carry out a full diversity review of how we can encourage more people with disabilities, more people from ethnic minorities, more people from the inner cities, and more young people to visit the countryside and participate in country activities. Initially, we will do this by seeking their views on what they need to enjoy the countryside. Then we will draw up a plan of action'.
3. The Countryside Agency is undertaking this review for DEFRA and developing a plan of action.
Other Drivers
4. There are other important drivers for the review to be aware of.
5. Firstly, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995, obliges service providers to make reasonable adjustments to enable people with disabilities to use their services. Organisations are expected to comply with this from 2004. There is debate as to whether facilities offering access to the countryside, such as rights of way, are services or not, but that aside it is only right that we should do our utmost to meet the needs of people with disabilities.
6. Similarly, the Race Relations Amendment Act, 2000 expects local authorities and other service providers to state how they will ensure that discrimination will not take place in their service delivery. This is being interpreted to include the delivery of countryside visitor services such as country parks and rights of way.
7. There are, of course, the powers and the duties of the Countryside Agency under the Countryside Act 1968. This requires the Agency to:
‘keep under review all matters relating to -
a) the provision and improvement of facilities for the enjoyment of countryside;
b) the conservation and enhancement of the natural beauty and amenity of the countryside; and
c) the need to secure public access to the countryside for the purposes of
open air recreation.’
8. Finally, there is Policy 15 in the National Parks Review, which, in part, is concerned with the diversity of visitors to National Parks. This states:
'DEFRA, the Countryside Agency and National Parks authorities should attach higher priority to promoting understanding of National Parks. DEFRA should, in consultation with Department for Education and Skills, encourage Park Authorities to develop, with partners, programmes and initiatives to promote greater understanding and education among a wider audience, including those from urban areas, ethnic minorities and young people’.
Review aims
9. The review aims to increase access and recreational opportunities for people and groups who are under represented as visitors to the countryside. It will also consider whether 'getting out' has the potential to reduce people's experience of social exclusion.
Scoping research
10. We have completed scoping research (March 03) and a copy of the summary report is available. The research reviewed past projects and literature in the field and recommended future research needs. The findings and the Agency’s response to them were presented to a seminar of potential review partners in February 2003 and our plan of work for the Diversity Review is based on the findings.
Key components
11. The Diversity Review has three key components.
a. Gathering national evidence and baseline data
Baseline data
Ÿ utilising Great Britain Day Visit Survey (GBDVS)
Ÿ utililising CA survey of people’s values and attitudes to the countryside
Ÿ comparing the indices in these two surveys with other secondary data such as
Breadline Britain to build a more comprehensive picture of where under
represented groups live, their interests and socio-economic status
Ÿ market research of target groups
Evidence
Ÿ providers attitudes to and provision for a diversity of visitors
Ÿ longitudinal research to measure change and demonstrate the value of countryside
visiting over time
Ÿ factors affecting participation.
b. Area based action research
This will be testing approaches to increasing the level of representation by under represented groups. The findings from the national research will inform the selection of areas to carry out the Action Research. We are currently planning for these to be in four areas, where we plan to bring together under represented groups and providers. It is likely that one of the areas will include a National Park with a very close urban population.
c. Evaluation framework
We have a lack of evidence of the effectiveness of particular approaches to increasing participation, how sustainable it is and of the effects on individuals and communities. This is in part due to a lack of effective evaluation, whether ‘in project’ evaluation by participants themselves, or external evaluation of the whole project during its lifetime, on completion and then after a number of years.
Under representation, participation and social exclusion
12. The OPENspace summary report (p.2) contains a useful section distinguishing between these terms. They suggest that the critical distinction lies between people’s observed behaviour and how people feel.
Ÿ Participation measures observed behaviour - it is the percentage of all people doing a certain activity who belong to a specific group.
Ÿ Representation is a meta-statistic - it is the ratio of ‘the participation of a specific groups in a certain activity’ to ‘the proportion of that group in the background population as a whole’.
Ÿ Exclusion expresses how people feel (their perceptions)
NCAF member involvement
13. We will be approaching NCAF members to take part in the provider research, which we expect to take place later this year. We will also want to consider involving some members in the area based action research projects to commence in March 2004. These will test out ways of increasing access to the countryside by under represented groups that are sustainable in the long term.
Timetable
Broadly, the timetable for the Diversity Review is:
National evidence gathering research - August 2003 - February 2004
Action research projects - March 2004 - December 2005 and beyond
Effective evaluation framework - developed by December 2003
Jacqui Stearn
Programme Manager, Diversity Review
