Breadcrumbs
Delivering for rural communities - 15 July 2004
As rural policy delivery undergoes major change Rural Community Councils (RCCs) will be key players with their roots firmly embedded in their local communities especially if they build on their relationships with regional partners, according to the Countryside Agency. This will enable them to continue supporting communities in the English countryside and help them access the services they need.
Speaking at the ACRE Rural Life conference today (Thursday 15 July), Pam Warhurst chair of the Countryside Agency said: “We are in the midst of change – change in the way rural policy is delivered under the Modernising Rural Delivery Review and change in the way policy is generally delivered with a greater focus now falling on the regional level. This represents a big cultural shift that we all need to respond to and find our way through.
“The voluntary and community sector has a very important role to play and going forward RCCs are central to helping rural communities tackle their local problems with local solutions. Through their national network and ACRE they also have a key role to play in ensuring that good practice is promoted.
“The challenges all of us involved in supporting rural communities face remain as complex as ever. Our Rural Services Standard – Third Progress report 2003/04 published today shows a mixed picture, with successes in the improved availability of some services such as GP appointments and ambulance response times for rural people, but there are areas of concern such as the rate of school and post office closures which increased last year. Underlying these closures is a complicated picture of demographic change in the countryside, as the rural population gets older and school rolls fall, and changes in demand for and delivery of services, for example in the payment of benefits, reduce post office business. We are encouraged that the Department for Education and Skills have strengthened the rural proofing element of their guidance to minimise closures, and we are working hard to encourage the use of schools for wider community benefits to keep them viable.
“The Countryside Agency is already working hard to ensure all levels of the policy delivery chain ‘think rural’ when developing and delivering policies, from Whitehall Departments, through regional government to local authorities, as our most recent rural proofing report shows. We will continue to monitor rural proofing and to provide RCCs with advice and support to help them help their communities,” Pam Warhurst added.
Rural Services Standard third progress report 2003/4 can be downloaded from the Countryside Agency website at www.countryside.gov.uk or obtained free from Countryside Agency Publications, P.O.Box 125, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7EP. Tel: 0870 120 6466.
The Countryside Agency is the statutory body working to make the quality of life better for people in the countryside and the quality of the countryside better for everyone. It is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs.
