Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minutes of Evidence


Examination of Witnesses (Questions 80-82)

2 NOVEMBER 2004

MR DAVID MARLOW, MS JUDITH BARKER AND DR RICHARD HUTCHINS

  Q80 Chairman: What is the position in the West Midlands, Dr Hutchins?

  Dr Hutchins: It is very similar. We are working very closely with the Government Office on developing the regional rural delivery framework. In fact, we are chairing one of the subgroups that is looking at the economic strand of that and that process is working well. I would caveat that by saying that the timetable is very tight. In terms of the West Midlands Rural Affairs Forum, it is chaired by a former Advantage West Midlands Board Director called Dr Tony Harris, it is a very large forum and that needs to be looked at by the Government Office in terms of its effectiveness, but it is a very important forum and I think at the moment it is providing the service that it is there to do.

  Q81 Mr Jack: Does the strategy that you have drawn up with the Government Office go to Defra for approval or do you offer it to stakeholders in a wider forum for their approval? How do you get the tick in the box that it is okay or do you just do it?

  Dr Hutchins: In the West Midlands we have another group called the Rural Accord Group which in a sense is a bit like a Regional Rural Priorities Board. There are all the public sector organisations in one group and that is the group which will oversee the development of the regional delivery framework. As to where it goes from there, Judith may be able to provide some guidance on that.

  Ms Barker: Certainly ministers will be approving it shortly after the end of December, I hope. What Defra are requesting is that stakeholders, rural stakeholders, business agencies, etcetera, have all been involved in the process. In fact, in the east of England we have got a conference on 12 November to do exactly that, to involve them in the priorities, the delivery mechanisms, the Rural Affairs Forum Review, all of those aspects, so people can see the direction of travel and that is a critical process in order for ministers to be able to sign up to what is being submitted.

  Q82 Chairman: I guess there are groups like the RSPB and The Wildlife Trust who would say that the focus of RDAs is primarily economic and you are being very successful in getting some hard measures out of there, but your remit on the environmental agenda is pretty limited. I think there is a reference to sustainability in your terms of reference. By chance, I was with the chairman and the chief executive of the agency for the East Midlands today and they were saying that we could do more on the environment. Is that a fair comment?

  Mr Marlow: I think we can always do more on the environment. I must say that we take the sustainable development purpose in the RDA Act very seriously. I do not know if the chairman has shown you, but the RDAs did produce a publication called Smart Growth which actually highlighted some of the contributions that we have made to sustainable development. We could always do better, but it is actually pretty central to everything that the RDAs are trying to do. Even when our entry point may be an economic entry point sustainability is at the heart of what we do.

  Chairman: You have told us an awful lot. If there is anything you want to add afterwards then do drop us a note. I wish you all the best of luck with a very tight timetable. Thank you very much.





 
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