Provision of services
90. The sparse and dispersed nature of many rural
settlements makes the provision of services more logistically
difficult and hence more expensive: "Accessing essential
services such as post offices, banks and cash machines can prove
complex and restrictive".[102]
These difficulties apply to Government or other public sector
services, as well as to private and voluntary movements. For example,
the development of credit unions, which provide affordable and
responsible lending to low income households (and are discussed
in more detail in Section 5 below) has been much more limited
than in urban areas in Scotland.[103]
91. We took a significant amount of evidence from
rural local authorities, who have a crucial role in ensuring that
services are delivered effectively. Some witnesses argued for
targeted benefits to be applied to rural areas, due to the distinctive
challenges they face.[104]
Councillor Harry McGuigan, COSLA's Spokesperson on Community Safety
and Well Being, called for targeted programmes from the UK Government
to offset the extra costs incurred in the provision of services
to geographically remote communities:
there are these high costs as far as the rural situation
is concerned and it is there simply because of the nature of the
thing, but it could be argued, of course, that the political representation
has not been robust enough over the years. Those unique types
of costs cannot really be met by the people living in the particular
area. We cannot say to them, "Patient, help yourself",
but maybe there should have been a bigger recognition from central
government in allocating resources to alleviate some of the difficulties
and problems that are faced there.[105]
92. In 2005, the Scottish Executive launched a programme
aimed at improving the provision of services to rural communities
by identifying a number of Rural Service Priority Areas. The extent
of support provided through this programme was, however, limited.[106]
When we asked Stewart Maxwell MSP what action was now being taken
to address rural poverty, he said that current strategies were
under review:
clearly we do accept there is deprivation in rural
areas and many people are as poor in rural areas as urban areas.
We take that on board. That is why the Cabinet Secretary for Finance,
John Swinney, met with a number of Island and Highland leaders
around 28 October to discuss some of these problems and we were
just at the beginning post that meeting of looking at the possibility
of establishing a complementary mechanism for looking at rural
poverty.[107]
93. It may be that the balance of targeted versus
universal benefits needs to be different in rural and urban areas.
It is likely that the Scottish Executive would be closely involved
in any future programmes aimed at providing extra support to rural
authorities.
94. In their evidence, UK Government Ministers pointed
to the important role of co-location in delivering services to
rural communities, as well as the growing use of IT to allow remote
access to services.[108]
In this Report, we have highlighted
the importance of co-ordinating initiatives in different administrations
and policy areas in order to reduce unnecessary duplication and
to ensure that policies are 'poverty proofed' across the board.
This is doubly important for rural communities, where accessibility
is key and a range of welfare advice must be made available from
a single point of contact.
95. We would highlight as an important deficiency
the lack of a single voice campaigning for the interests of rural
communities in Scotland. Scotland, unlike England, has no Commission
for Rural Communities. Many of our witnesses supported the creation
of such an institution, in order to ensure that policy is subject
to a systematic 'rural-proofing'.[109]
We were given an example of the consequences of this lack of coherence
in the closure of Jobcentre Plus offices.[110]
Whilst it may be possible to rationalise the number of offices
across the UK as a whole, the closure of an office in a rural
location can mean extended travel times for job seekers in an
area where public transport is patchy and can therefore impose
significant extra expense.
96. We conclude
that rural poverty presents its own challenges, which will not
be solved by an approach tailored to the small pockets of deprivation
characteristic of urban poverty. It is vital that the Government's
anti-poverty policies are subject to 'rural proofing'. Witnesses
have suggested that the establishment of a Commission for Rural
Scotland might be a way to give rural communities a stronger,
unified voice and we hope that the Government and the Scottish
Executive will consider this proposal. Greater investment in outreach
is needed to ensure that geographically dispersed communities
have equal access to services.
92 
