Memorandum from the Commission for Rural
Communities
1. INTRODUCTION
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) welcomes
the opportunity to respond to this issues and questions paper.
We are responding in our role as the Government's rural advocate,
watchdog and expert adviser.
This response addresses some of the key points
specifically relevant to this inquiry and provides a broad picture
of rural issues relating to the areas covered. Of the individual
questions, we confine ourselves to answering only those questions
for which we can make a useful contribution.
2. COMMISSION
FOR RURAL
COMMUNITIES—ROLE
AND PURPOSE
The Commission for Rural Communities is the
independent statutory agency acting as a voice for England's rural
people, businesses and communities, providing well-informed, independent
advice to government and monitoring and reporting on whether policies
reflect the real needs of people living and working in rural England.
The CRC has a particular focus on rural disadvantage. Its key
functions are to act as:
— Rural advocate—the voice for
rural people, businesses and communities.
— Expert adviser—giving evidence-based,
objective advice to government (central, regional and local) in
taking account of rural needs.
— Independent watchdog—monitoring
and reporting on the delivery of policies nationally, regionally
and locally.
The Commission believes that England's rural
communities should be diverse, thriving and sustainable, where
everyone is able to play a full part in society and where no-one
is disadvantaged. It will speak up for rural people and communities,
especially those experiencing disadvantage, and ensure that policies
take full account of rural needs and circumstances, holding government
and others to account for their delivery.
One key aspect of the Commission's work is the
identification and dissemination of best practice in relation
to meeting the needs of rural communities. This includes benchmarking,
evaluating and monitoring good practice and innovation, sharing
lessons and disseminating information from across England and
beyond.
3. RESPONSES
TO SPECIFIC
QUESTIONS
What are the benefits of contestability to the
users of public services?
The Commission for Rural Communities is undertaking
a study "Public Service Reform—Choice and Voice in
Rural England" which is due to report in the summer. The
overall study is looking at: the context of "choice"
for rural communities within Government's agenda for public service
reform; looking at an approach to rural proof the mechanisms of
public service reform (choice and voice); exploring the issues
around elective surgery, secondary education and choice based
lettings; and exploring the scope for rural markets (particularly
health and education) to respond to choice through competition.
We would welcome the opportunity to send you
a copy of our report when the work is complete and to discuss
this study with PASC in the context of this debate.
Is the third sector more likely to provide better
public services than the state or the private sector?
The Prime Minister has highlighted[125]
his view that public services should be framed around minimum
standards; should be accountable; should, wherever possible, be
devolved to the front line; should allow for local creativity
and reflect local needs; and should respect and meet the needs
of diverse communities. In an often-quoted statement in October
2001, he said: "In developing greater choice of provider,
the private and voluntary sectors can play a role. Contrary to
myth no one has ever suggested they are the answer, or that they
should replace public services, but, where they can improve public
services, nothing should stand in their way".
Rural areas have the additionality of "geodemographic
factors"—a complex set of variables relating to distance,
settlement pattern and population density. Rural third sector
organisations already have experience of working with these variables.
Research carried out by NCVO on behalf of the
CRC predecessor, The Countryside Agency[126]
highlights the challenges rural voluntary organisations have of
delivering public services in areas where users are far more dispersed.
The organisations operating in rural areas have to make decisions
about where and how to deliver services. The research highlights
two ways in which this challenge was addressed:
— providing services in one (or more)
centre but also providing transport to that centre for users.
Does commissioning benefit the third sector?
Research by NCVO, "Contracting for Services:
a rural analysis" (highlighted in question 2), found
that the contract process from start to finish does not work for
many third sector organisations. In many cases, the contracting
process put the organisations at a distinct disadvantage in negotiating
situations. The following areas are suggested as crucial to achieving
fair contracting practices:
— Recognising, and factoring into the
contracting process, the rural premium, the additional costs that
can exist when providing services in rural areas.
— Contractors should recognise full
cost recovery and third sector organisations should price their
tenders on full cost recovery basis.
— Third sector organisations should
ensure that they promote and explain the added value that they
offer. Contractors should recognise this added value.
— Short-term, annual contracts are
time consuming, inefficient and create uncertainty. Longer-term
contracts should be offered, but be properly monitored.
— Where good relations exist, through
previous work or acknowledgement of organisations, these should
be built on, but should become more formalised.
— The contracting process should be
Compact compliant (Compact Code of Good Practice on Funding and
Procurement, published in March 2005).
— Private sector and statutory agencies
should be flexible in the monitoring and evaluation processes.
They should be negotiated with the third sector organisations
and where possible existing systems should be used.
Does commissioning services from the third sector
have any benefits for the state?
The third sector plays an important and valuable
role at the local level—through providing both publicly
funded services and a wide range of services for local communities
eg, advocacy/advice work, activities, clubs; and provides communities
with a voice.
The rural third sector is in a position to identify
and address local needs and priorities; particularly the disadvantaged
and where there are needs cutting across traditional service boundaries.
As highlighted in NCVO's publication How voluntary and community
organisations can help Transform the local relationship, "the
sector can provide a channel through which statutory organisations
are able to access those who are often the most marginalised in
society, and by working closely with VCOs local government might
also give a greater opportunity for bottom up pressures to be
heard, which can highlight issues or problems and act as a catalyst
for change".
What are the financial implications of providing
services through the third sector compared with directly provided
state services?
Rural areas have greater numbers of smaller
voluntary organisations and their resources and capacity is limited.
Issues include availability and suitability of training and support,
a small pool of trustees, penetration of national organisations
and critical mass of population, and the wide geographic areas
to cover. These challenges present significant barriers to effective
delivery, particularly when competing for grant funding or contracts
with budget holders.
It is widely recognised that the unit cost of
delivering services is frequently higher in a rural context. This
is largely a consequence of the "geodemographic factors"
(highlighted under question 2), a complex set of variables relating
to distance, settlement pattern and population density. In order
to reach people in rural areas, services are often required to
provide outreach, mobile units or transport solutions that all
increase complexity and add to the time and cost of provision.
Providing for scattered populations dispersed over large areas
also limits opportunities for economies of scale. These sparsity
factors and the resulting "rural premium" must be taken
into account when considering the nature and funding of rural
services.
See bullet point above on the Compact. The Compact
is the key genuine partnership work as opposed to contractual
relationships.
Are the costs and benefits to the state the same
when commissioned from the third sector and private sectors?
Although not a direct answer to this question
we would like to highlight the importance of rural proofing. As
the Government's independent rural watchdog, we are keen to ensure
that policy makers in central government identify the implications
for and impact of their proposals on rural areas and, where relevant,
adjust their policy or adopt specific measures to address any
issues arising from them.
March 2007
125 The Reform of public services: the role of the
voluntary sector, NCVO, 2005. Back
126
Contracting for Services: a rural analysis. Back
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