Further supplementary memorandum submitted
by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (V27b)
Letter from the Chairman of the Committee
to the Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, 27 April 2004
At its meeting on 21 April, the Committee asked
me to write to you about developments since publication of the
report of Lord Haskins of the Rural Delivery Review.
The report proposed a significant redefinition
of the relationship between the Countryside Agency and Defra.
The Agency will become a much reduced organisation with little
or no budget. Most of its responsibilities will be re-allocated
to the Regional Development Agencies, and Defra may also take
back some of the Agency's former functions.
The Committee has asked me to seek clarification
from you about a number of matters:
— What progress has been made in taking
forward this—and other—aspects of the Haskins report?
— What discussions have been held with
the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, and what is its approach
to the matter?
— Who will take responsibility for
the delivery of existing rural programmes, such as Vital Villages?
I am grateful to you for your help with this
matter.
Rt Hon Michael Jack MP
Chairman of the Committee
27 April 2004
Letter from the Minister for Rural Affairs
and Local Environment Quality, Department for Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs, to the Chairman of the Committee, 3 July 2004
Thank you for your letter of 27 April to Margaret
Beckett regarding developments since the publication of Lord Haskins'
Rural Delivery Review. She has asked me to reply on her behalf.
I very much apologise for the delay in this response.
First, a point of clarification. In his report,
Lord Haskins did not recommend a redefinition of the Countryside
Agency's relationship with Defra; he recommended its abolition.
In her initial response to Haskins in November, the Secretary
of State said that, while she found his analysis compelling, she
did not believe that the Countryside Agency should be abolished.
Instead she saw the continued need for a much smaller, more focused
organisation. A redefinition of the relationship between the Countryside
Agency and Defra therefore follows from her decision, not from
Lord Haskins' report.
In respect of the Countryside Agency's functions
in future, you should also be aware of the potential role of the
new integrated agency, which the Secretary of State announced
in November would be created by bringing together elements of
the work done by English Nature, the Countryside Agency and the
Rural Development Service. The Secretary of State also announced
that we would work with Regional Development Agencies (RDAs),
Government Offices (GOs) and other stakeholders to define new
mechanisms for delivery services to rural communities.
In developing our thinking, my officials have
worked closely and held frequent discussions with ODPM (who lead
on GOs) to ensure that our thinking is consistent with their `Regions'
white paper and their work on neighbourhood renewal and social
exclusion. Of course, they have also been working closely with
DTI (who lead on RDAs), and a range of other stakeholders.
In the case of Vital Villages, the Countryside
Agency has already announced the closure of grant schemes to new
applicants. The programme was always limited to three years (ending
in March 2005) and its closure is entirely separate from our work
on Modernising Rural Delivery. The Countryside Agency will, of
course, meet all existing grant commitments under the Vital Villages
programme and some £14.2 million will be spent in 2004-05
supporting action by rural communities. The Countryside Agency
has met its target to help over 1,000 rural communities to help
themselves. I can assure you that sustainable rural communities
will remain a priority for the Department and future delivery
arrangements will reflect this.
Finally, you asked what progress we have made.
Modernising Rural Delivery is a very complex area, with many detailed
issues to work through. It is important we get it right, and this
inevitably takes some time. But we have made good progress, and
the Secretary of State hopes to announce her decisions soon.
Rt Hon Alun Michael MP
Minister for Rural Affairs and Local Environment
Quality
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
July 2004
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