Rural
proofing and the role of the Rural Advocate
52. Evidence noted the important role of the Countryside
Agency, and its successor, in ensuring the 'rural proofing' of
Government activity. The Countryside Agency defined 'rural proofing'
as:
… thinking about whether a policy will have
any significant differential impacts in rural areas. It aims to
encourage government departments and others to 'think rural' by
taking account of the characteristics and needs of the countryside
when making and implementing policies.[95]
53. The Countryside Agency thought that "the
increased devolution of delivery and implementation of policies
to regional and local level makes it even more important that
rural proofing is embedded at all levels of government—national,
regional and local".[96]
Defra noted that it takes the lead role in government on rural
proofing policy, but added that the work of the Countryside Agency
would be carried on by its successor, which would "monitor
and challenge government at all levels, checking that rural proofing
is being done, and is delivering results for rural communities
and people".[97]
54. The Countryside Agency initially told us that
the legislation establishing its successor "should provide
a general duty on all government departments and public bodies
to reflect rural equity in their relevant policies and activities.
That will increase the ability to audit and rural-proof public
bodies' policy making—a core role of the New Countryside
Agency".[98]
However, in his evidence on the draft NERC Bill, the Chairman
of the Countryside Agency accepted that this might be difficult
to enshrine in statute. He argued however that they had got "the
next best thing": assurances that the Government was committed
to rural proofing and would continue to take it very seriously.
An example of this was the fact that rural proofing was now included
as part of the Regulatory Impact Assessment process.[99]
The Local Government Association also made the point that rural
proofing should apply to regional and local government, as well
as central Government departments.[100]
(Specific concerns about the wording of the relevant part of the
draft Bill are addressed in Chapter 12 below.)
55. The Prime Minister has appointed the Chairman
of the Countryside Agency as the Rural Advocate. The draft Bill
does not make formal provision for the Chair of the new CRC to
be the Rural Advocate. However, the Policy Statement accompanying
the draft Bill does state that the Chair of the Commission will
be the Rural Advocate. The Countryside Agency welcomed this "explicit
commitment".[101]
The LGA, on the other hand, felt that the role of the Rural Advocate
was not stated as firmly as it might be.[102]
56. The Minister reassured us that the new CRC would
continue the rural-proofing function of the CA, and that in this
respect nothing had changed. He agreed it would have a role in
rural proofing across Government, outside the Defra remit as necessary.[103]
He also explained that the role of Rural Advocate was not a statutory
function, and for this reason was not mentioned in the draft NERC
Bill. The intention "under the present Prime Minister"
was that the Chair of the CRC would be designated as the Rural
Advocate, but the Government had not wanted to "tie the hands
of everybody" by putting this commitment on a more formal
basis.[104]
Definition
of 'rural'
57. This Committee has previously recommended that
the Countryside Agency "make its highest priority to define
what a 'rural' area is, and seek to ensure that other Departments
and Agencies and other public bodies adopt the same definition".[105]
The Countryside Agency acknowledged our earlier interest in this
area and referred us to the results of a collaborative exercise
involving the Agency itself, the Office for National Statistics,
Defra, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and the National
Assembly for Wales.[106]
58. The new definition of urban and rural areas that
resulted from the project was summarised as follows: "If
you live in something which is a reasonably cohesive urban settlement
of more than 10,000 population, you are not rural; if you live
in other areas, you are generally classified as rural".[107]
The Countryside Agency felt the new rural definition was "a
step forward in being able to assess the delivery of key services
to rural areas and will prove useful in monitoring the effectiveness
of rural proofing".[108]
59. We welcome
the fact that the Countryside Agency is not to be abolished. There
is a continuing need for an expert policy adviser and rural watchdog.
This important role must be recognised by the Government and its
activities funded accordingly. It is vital that the expertise
developed by the Agency is not lost during the restructuring process.
We expect the new Commission for Rural Communities to have sufficient
resources, influence and independence to act as an effective champion
of rural issues across the whole of Government. The CRC should
seek to ensure the 'rural proofing' of all levels of Government
which are engaged in rural delivery and highlight cases of both
poor as well as good practice.
60. The role of
Rural Advocate is a vital one and we welcome the commitment that
the Chairman of the CRC will be the Rural Advocate. To be effective,
the Rural Advocate needs proper back-up, and we would be very
concerned at any suggestion that the role should be detached from
the CRC.
86 "Rural Delivery Review Frequently Asked Questions",
Defra website, November 2004, www.defra.gov.uk Back
87
Q 419 Back
88
Q 584 Back
89
Q 280 Back
90
Ev 58. See Ev 70 for diagram of the New Countryside Agency. Back
91
Ev 11 Back
92
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Rural Strategy
2004, pp 22-23 Back
93
Q 184 Back
94
Qq 577-78 Back
95
Ev 58 [footnote] Back
96
Ev 58 [emphasis in original] Back
97
"Rural Delivery Review Frequently Asked Questions",
Defra website, November 2004, www.defra.gov.uk Back
98
Ev 61; Appendix 12, para 15 Back
99
Qq 415-17, 426 Back
100
Q 448 Back
101
Appendix 12, para 9 Back
102
Q 448 Back
103
Qq 557-58 Back
104
Q 556 Back
105
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, Second Report of
Session 2001-02, The Countryside Agency, HC 386, para 12 Back
106
The Countryside Agency, The new definition of urban and rural
areas of England and Wales, CRN 86, September 2004 Back
107
Q 193 [Mr Wakeford] Back
108
Ev 71 Back
