Memorandum submitted by the Country Land
and Business Association (V17)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The Country Land and Business Association
(CLA) welcomes Defra's decision to formulate a Rural Strategy.
The creation of Defra was a major task, and it is only now that
the department is putting together a coherent rural strategy that
will also help it to influence policies in the rest of Whitehall,
to make them more relevant to the needs of rural areas. Defra
needs to be encouraged in this aim. CLA's locus is that its 40,000
members are involved in all aspects of land management and rural
business managing half or more of the rural land area of England
and Wales. CLA members generate jobs and incomes in the countryside,
and provide land and buildings for investment.
2. Defra's Rural Strategy must promote sustainability,
built on the three pillars of economic, social and environmental
health in the countryside. This tripartite remit is as necessary
for the proposed new integrated agency as it is for the Regional
Development Agencies, Government Offices or Regional Assemblies.
As yet, Defra has not followed up the welcome recognition of the
three pillars in the Secretary of State's July statement with
incorporation of the remit explicitly into the aims of these bodies.
3. Rural businesses themselves can act as
advisers to and drivers of better policy and its delivery. They
have the practical experience and long term perspective to do
this. At regional level the creation and recognition of a rural
business voice is needed. This is already happening to some extent.
The West Midlands Business Council in that region and the Food
and Farming Rural Industry Group in the South East perform this
role. It needs to be encouraged elsewhere and recognised explicitly.
4. Defra has radically cut the Countryside
Agency, with the result that its national rural adviser will no
longer be informed by the experience of running schemes on the
ground. It will only become evident over time whether this creates
a serious deficiency in advice and policy formulation.
5. Rural people tell us that that they want
more local delivery of rural policy. Defra's strategy may make
policy more accessible to individuals and businesses, better informed
by experience and knowledge of their particular needs and circumstances
and adaptable, but such an outcome is not an automatic consequence
of restructuring Government agencies. It will require a cultural
change within the new agency and the RDAs.
6. The culture should be one of understanding
rural communities and working with business—in which regulation
is used as a last resort. Wherever possible this positive culture
would look to draw upon the services of those with a track record
for skill and expertise and with the trust of people who live
in the countryside and/or manage land.
7. Agriculture, though small in terms of
its statistical contribution to the rural economy, is influential
and to be valued in terms of its wider contribution—as a
backdrop to rural tourism and inward investment; as the guarantor
of consumer choice in a market dominated by multiple retailers
and world suppliers; as the steward of the countryside; as a feedstock
for Britain's £60 billion food industry; as the "lubricating
oil" in the rural economy, generating activity in many ancillary
up and downstream businesses.
8. The Rural Strategy 2004 will work only
if Defra, its agencies, RDAs and other bodies are all willing
to approach rural communities and businesses in this way.
PROPOSAL TO
ESTABLISH AN
INTEGRATED AGENCY
9. Now that the decision has been taken
to establish an "integrated agency", the CLA welcomes
the decision of the Secretary of State to seek a Parliamentary
Bill in the next Parliamentary session so that the new body can
be formally vested with authority by January 2007.
10. CLA believes that the environmental
stewardship of the countryside depends on an economic use of land
and buildings, and that employment opportunities and reasonable
access to public and private services are essential prerequisites
for sustainable rural communities. The agency should therefore
have an economic and social remit to underpin its environmental
objective.
11. The ethos of Defra's Rural Development
Service, which incorporates this underlying economic aim, must
be transferred into the new agency, which otherwise will inherit
an ethos in which livelihood is considered secondary to the objectives
of environmental land designation, site protection and access
promotion. These latter two can conflict, so integration of the
access part of the Countryside Agency and English Nature may be
helpful in addressing such conflict.
12. It is not yet clear how conflicts between
the advice of the integrated agency and the RDAs will be resolved.
This could yet be a major problem for rural communities wishing
to improve their economic standards of living.
THE PROPOSED
STREAMLINING OF
RURAL, AGRICULTURAL
AND ENVIRONMENTAL
FUNDING SCHEMES
Business support
13. The decision to streamline the current
provision of funding streams is welcome. However, it remains unclear
that reducing the 100 or so schemes into three programmes will
mean their abolition or simply their continuation in another form.
14. A key objective must be to identify
the needs of rural businesses and then tailor the delivery mechanism
to meet these concerns. Advice and effective business support
is crucial to maintain the vitality of rural businesses. However,
we do not believe that focusing on sign posting is sufficient
or tackles the problem of inconsistent delivery by Business Link.
Improvement in the performance of Business Links is now urgent.
The RDAs will have the capacity to do this and must be encouraged
by Government (and ourselves) to speak to rural business and its
representatives, to achieve the greater relevance needed.
15. It is with that qualification that the
additional £2 million for Business Link is welcome.
16. We can see the validity in adopting
a web-based approach for providing information but this will be
effective only when more rural businesses are web-familiar and
when broadband is widely available, within the next 12 months,
we hope.
Quality of service: advice to applicants
17. The streamlining process should have
as a key objective improving the quality of service to those requiring
assistance. The advice that is most needed is: whether a scheme
application will be "high-scoring" (thereby increasing
the chances of success); guidance of the application procedure
itself; and, given that many of Defra funding schemes are competitive,
whether there are sufficient funds available for the proposed
project. This has not been addressed in Rural Strategy 2004. However,
in some regions expressions of interest procedures are used which
gives the applicant a clear enough steer whether or not to continue
with an application and we believe this should be adopted in all
English regions.
Objectives
18. There is evidence that regional and
local bodies are geared towards allocating funds to larger infrastructure
projects, failing to take into account the innovative nature of
projects proposed by rural small businesses. In a practical sense,
Defra's desire to devolve authority could in fact disadvantage
the very businesses it is intending to support.
Other funding
19. Many businesses do not realise that
there are funding streams available to rural businesses outside
the scope of Defra. These include monies disbursed by the Local
Authorities. Although not considered as part of the funding streams
review by Defra, they are recognised within the Rural Strategy
in the role proposed for Local Authorities. But here again, there
is an element of confusion and a failure to understand the complexities
of local government. It is often the case that there is conflict
between various parts of a Local Authority that can be detrimental
to the needs of the rural economy. It is also questionable as
to whether Local Authorities are adequately rural proofed, despite
Government efforts to the contrary.
THE DELIVERY
MECHANISMS FOR
THE STRATEGY,
INCLUDING THE
IT STRATEGY THAT
UNDERPINS IT,
ITS ENVIRONMENTAL
IMPACT AND
ITS LINES
OF ACCOUNTABILITY
Sustainable development underpins the delivery
of the rural strategy
20. Rural Strategy 2004 states that: "The
overarching Government aim is that our rural policy should have
as its outcome genuinely sustainable development." (Paragraph
5; page 6) It is widely used in the document in the context of
sustainable development, sustainable patterns of development,
sustainable communities, sustainable economic growth, sustainable
farming, and others. But little effort appears to have been made
to actually define what is meant by "sustainable development"
which we believe is a serious omission.
21. There is a close interaction between
economy, environment and community in rural areas which serves
as a lesson for sustainable development elsewhere.
22. But Rural Strategy 2004 appears to reverse
the emphasis with social inclusion and the environment foremost,
but economic development and employment at the end of the list.
Such prioritisation leads to confusion and an inconsistent policy
approach, particularly when Policy Planning Statement (PPS) 1—Creating
Sustainable Communities—clearly focuses on economic development
with community and environment as second and third priorities.
Moreover, Rural Strategy 2004 appears to contradict the Secretary
of State's own statement to the House of Commons on 21 July 2004
which listed Economy, Community and Environment in, we believe,
the correct order. This confusion simply exacerbates the problems
in the planning system and fails to produce a clear and concise
approach.
23. There is also a danger that if "sustainable"
is interpreted only in terms of transport policy, and the need
to reduce reliance on the private motor car and travel by roads
generally,—and this is often the case—large areas
of the countryside will be denied sustainable development. This
will militate against the shared objective to reinforce the fragile
economies of the more remote rural areas.
24. We hope that this is not the Government's
intention, but it may be the result of the strategy, as worded.
An IT strategy?
25. A fundamental requirement in terms of
delivery is to have in place effective IT strategies and support
systems. These need to be co-ordinated, difficult in a devolved
administrative system, and clearly should be addressed in Rural
Strategy 2004.
26. However, there appears to be no reference
to an integrated IT strategy to underpin rural delivery.
The only notable references to IT relate to the web-based reference
guide for business support and the Government's commitment to
broadband. We recognise and accept that delivery of the rural
strategy will inevitably lead to the standardisation of systems
and increased use of IT. The CLA is committed to ensuring that
rural areas have access to affordable broadband which, we believe,
is a vital tool in increasing business efficiency and profitability.
However, failure to set out in clear terms how an IT strategy
will work is, we believe, a major oversight in ensuring effective
delivery.
The delivery mechanisms
27. The clear aim of the Rural Strategy
2004 is the devolution of responsibility from central government
to the regions. Defra must not take this to mean that it no longer
needs to inform itself of what is happening at regional level,
or that it no longer has a responsibility for policies to promote
the economic, social and environmental health of the countryside.
28. The Strategy sets out the increased
role of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) and local delivery
organisations. In order to make this possible, Defra will increase
its funding from £45.5 million to £72 million in 2004-05
to the RDA "single pot".
29. The biggest single potential source
of support for initiatives within the rural economy is this "single
pot", administered by the RDAs. The proportion of single
pot funding going to rural areas may be as low as 5% of the total,
even though rural areas often account for 10-20% of the population.
GDP in remoter rural areas may be significantly below the regional
average.
30. The rural voice needs to be recognised
more than it currently is or seems likely to be in the future,
unless a conscious effort is taken to redress the balance. Direct
elections of regional assemblies may exacerbate the situation,
as the assembly members seek to reflect predominantly the views
of their urban majority electors.
31. At the same time, the transfer of key
delivery responsibilities away from Defra to regional and local
delivery organisations means that it will be difficult in practice
for the rural affairs department to see its rural policy delivered
on the ground.
32. Moreover, rather than actually reducing
the number of organisations and bodies involved in delivery, the
strategy in fact increases the number through the devolved delivery
approach. Inherent in Rural Strategy 2004 is a conflict between
the public and the private sector. Emphasis is placed on the top-down
rather than the bottom-up approach, given the plethora of public
bodies involved. The CLA's concern is that the RDAs and the regional
assemblies tend to be very public sector orientated, which will
undoubtedly continue, leading to little interest in promoting
regional rural economies or taking on tough regional economic
issues, while tending towards bureaucracy and initiatives without
delivering any genuine business outputs.
Accountability
33. Rural Strategy 2004 introduces a new
institutional structure and sets out how the relationships of
the various devolved organisations will be accountable. This includes
the creation of Rural Priority Boards, the functions of Regional
Rural Affairs Forums, and the role of the voluntary and community
sector in rural areas, in particular the activities of the Rural
Community Councils. It also sets out a new role of the Countryside
Agency and the Rural Advocate.
34. Delivery agencies are not, per se,
more accountable or responsive to need than central government.
Thus audit and accountability are key to the success of rural
policy. Audit must be separated from delivery, and be transparent.
There must be an adequate mechanism in place to ensure that accountability
is not only to Government, or even elected assemblies (Parliament,
local councils, regional assemblies), but also to those directly
affected by rural policy—those who live and work in rural
areas. The regional rural affairs forums are not yet a sufficiently
well resourced, informed and representative vehicle to do this
job properly on behalf of rural communities and businesses. We
are also unconvinced that new Rural Priority Boards will be able
to deliver and ensure effective regional rural proofing. There
is also a case to be made that, far from simplifying the current
administrative structure, the sheer number of new bodies will
lead to inconsistency, inappropriate delivery mechanisms and a
general confusion that could take longer to disentangle than to
actually put in place.
35. We welcome the increased role of the
voluntary and community sector in delivering policy. But we are
also mindful of the need to ensure that a vacuum does not appear
in service delivery while new structures are put in place.
36. We note the envisaged new role for the
Countryside Agency and the proposed annual budget of £10
million. We also note that the new agency will be based initially
in London with staff relocating at a later date. This could have,
we believe, serious implications for the morale of the current
staff at the Countryside Agency.
37. In terms of the remit of the new agency,
we believe that there has been a missed opportunity. We remain
of the view that activities such as the State of the Countryside
report can be better carried out by a body which is independent.
Innovative projects may well be lost if they are transferred to
regional and local delivery organisations, just as the task of
managing public access to the countryside has suffered from lack
of resources.
THE EXTENT
TO WHICH
THE STRATEGY
INCORPORATES THE
RECOMMENDATIONS OF
LORD HASKINS'
RURAL DELIVERY
REVIEW
38. Annex C of Rural Strategy 2004 aligns
its set of policy priorities with the recommendations from the
Haskins Review. Outwardly, it appears that the majority of the
Haskins recommendations have been incorporated. However, the central
question that Rural Strategy 2004 needs to answer is whether the
principles, the institutional structure and the delivery mechanisms
it puts in place are robust enough to be successful.
39. A key indicator of successful delivery
will be tangible and clearly foreseeable benefits to those that
live and work in the countryside. It should be the practical benefits
for rural communities, and the national economy, that drive decisions,
rather than a search for neatness in government or a reduction
in expenditure.
40. The principle of devolution—if
exercised properly—can bring policy and delivery closer
to those directly affected, with policy decisions based on practical
knowledge and experience. The performance of Defra, the integrated
agency and the RDAs will be closely watched. There are tensions
within the Strategy, particularly between the public and private
sectors. Examples include: enabling regional and local delivery
organisations to develop schemes that could fail to take into
account private business interests; failure to recognise the "unique"
characteristics of Local Authorities and failing to put in place
appropriate conflict resolution mechanisms (eg between the integrated
agency and the RDAs). Our concern is that rural communities and
businesses will perceive the new structure as being cumbersome
and not equipped to meet their tangible needs.
17 September 2004
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