‘From policy to practice:

the delivery of rural development in Scotland’

Philomena de Lima

Rural Planning and Development :Comparative Perspectives on a Rural White Paper

Irish-Scottish Forum for Spatial Planning

Queen’s University Belfast, 18 September 2009

Structure of Presentation

• Context: OECD – ‘New Rural Paradigm’

• Key findings and recommendations: OECD (2008) Rural Policy Review , Scotland UK

• Policy and Practice in Scotland : Some Observations

• Concluding thoughts/ questions

Context: OECD (2006)– New Rural Paradigm: Policy and Governance

The changing contribution of agriculture to rural economies :

• While agriculture is important in shaping rural landscapes and has an influence in the rural economy , its role and importance both with regard to Gross Value Added (GVA) and in terms of share of employment is declining

• Key drivers of change posing threats and opportunities : globalisation, improved communications and reduction in transportation costs, changing trade patterns for commodities, and rise of non-farm activities in rural regions

OECD (2006)– New Rural Paradigm: Policy and Governance

The key question the document tries to address is how to adapt current strategies to the different development trends in rural regions, with a particular focus on policies exploiting ‘local, place-specific resources’?

Agricultural policy is sector-specific - rural development policy is multisectoral, place based (territorial policy)…

OECD (2006)– ‘New Rural Paradigm: Policy and Governance

Three factors are identified as critical to changes in rural policy making :

• Focus on amenities

• Pressures to reform agriculture policy

• Decentralisation and trends in regional policy :

OECD(2006) ‘ New Rural Paradigm’

( OECD, 2006, Table 1 The new Rural Paradigm, p4)

Old Approach New Approach

Objectives farm income, farm competitiveness

Competitiveness of rural areas, valorisation of local assets, exploitation of unused resources

Key target sector

Agriculture Various sectors of rural economies (ex. rural tourism, manufacturing, ICT industry, etc.)

Main tools Subsidies Investments

Key actors National governments, farmers

All levels of government (supra-national, national, regional and local), various local stakeholders (public, private, NGOs)

OECD(2006) ‘New Rural Paradigm’

Two principles emphasised as characterising the “new rural paradigm”. A focus on:

• places instead of sectors

• investment instead of subsidies

What are the policy implications of the new ‘rural paradigm’

Designing place based policies requires :

• Pooling of knowledge held by a wide variety of actors in the public and private sectors centrally as well as locally across different sectors

• ‘Traditional hierarchical administrative structures’ are

inadequate to administer policies which are multisectoral encompassing diverse rural areas

• Moving beyond centralised approaches to ones that encourage ‘bottom up’ initiatives grounded in specific places

OECD Rural Policy Review-Scotland

• Review of rural policy in Scotland undertaken between late 2006 – 2007 under previous administration

• Published in 2008 under new minority Government administration

Scotland : Percentage of Population and Land by Geographic Area, 2006

Cited in Scottish Government (2008, p6) Source: General Register Office for Scotland, 2007 (2006 mid-year estimates based on data zones) (Based on Scottish Executive Urban Rural Classification, 2005-2006

OECD(2008) Rural Policy Review, Scotland Scottish rural economy

Service sector dominates the Scottish rural economy ( 43% of employment in 2004)

Importance of agriculture has been declining: 1.3% of GVA and 11% of rural employment in 2004

OECD(2008) Positive aspects of rural Scotland

Rural areas performed well on socioeconomic indicators

In 2005 income levels were:• £22,010(114% of national average) in accessible rural areas • £19,878 (103%) in remote rural areas • £18,867(98%) in the rest of Scotland

Rural areas also had :• higher levels of tertiary education ( compared to the rest of

Scotland and also with regard to predominantly rural regions in the OECD.

• higher employment (79%) and lower unemployment (3%) than urban areas

• enterprise /new start-ups often relatively greater than urban areas

OECD(2008) Positive aspects of rural Scotland

Quality of life :• Rural areas ‘show comparable or better health standards

and practices than urban areas’ e.g. : • Life expectancy was 3 years higher • Lower emergency and cancer admissions • Lower prevalence of smoking and drug use

• Rural populations were more likely to feel safe at home and less likely to rate their neighbourhoods as poor places to live

• Rural areas were more likely to have gained from net migration ( e.g. share of rural population increased from 19% to 21%)

OECD(2008) Rural Scotland : opportunities

Most of rural Scotland has good potential: for example:• Growth sectors : renewable energy, tourism and

recreation, ‘silver economy’ • Higher population and net migration, etc

There were also some constraints :• High cost of housing and shortage of housing

attributed to landownership patterns and planning • Commuting and car dependency • Prevalence of small businesses /low business growth ,

etc

OECD(2008) Rural Scotland – Weaknesses

Rural Scotland is ‘spatially heterogeneous’. Remote rural areas in particular :

• experience significant loss of population• have an ageing population • show poor economic performance and have low incomes • have a predominance of low skilled jobs• have higher living costs • experience poor access to services/closure of services• have poor access to affordable housing • have a weak transport infrastructure

OECD(2008) Rural Policy in Scotland

• In general Scotland was seen to lack a ‘comprehensive, integrated and distinct rural policy’ which shaped governance both in terms of design and delivery.

• It was also difficult to get a clear and accurate idea of rural spend

The Scottish rural policy framework was characterised as :• Centralised• Sectoral (dominated by agriculture)• Lacking sensitivity to the diverse rural contexts in Scotland • Lacking genuine involvement by local and regional actors in policy

making • Too fragmented with a proliferation of agencies across all levels

OECD(2008) Rural Policy in Scotland

• Overall, it was argued that the sectoral approach had led to a proliferation of many visions of rural policy which in turn was considered to have led to a lack of visibility and coherence.

• It was recognised that the Scottish Rural development Prgramme (SRDP) included some innovative elements.

However, overall it tended to reinforce the sectoral ( i.e. agriculture and the environment) focus, and there were concerns that this would continue to reinforce and amplify some of the weaknesses already identified in the review process.

OECD(2008) Some recommendations for rural Scotland

Scotland needs to move towards:

• A distinct, integrated rural development policy with decentralised area based delivery mechanisms

• A recognition of the diversity of rural Scotland and establishing rural policy which combines and promotes stronger coordination of sectoral and territorial approaches

• An improved targeting of rural policy and re-thinking the present classification of ‘rural’ which is based on ‘central place based ‘ theory

• Promoting a place based approach to rural policy and programmes with stronger coordination, leadership and engagement at the central and local levels

• Encourage sharing of ‘local best practices’

OECD(2008) Some recommendations for rural Scotland

In addition four priorities for investment were identified:

• Rural housing and planning (rigid planning; concentration of land ownership)

• Service delivery and investment to tackle the challenges of an ageing population and rural transport infrastructure

• Exploiting the potential for rural diversification beyond agriculture

• A ‘deep’ understanding of urban linkages and synergies

Policy and Practice in Scotland : Some Observations

“The Scottish Government is committed to supporting rural life, rural communities and the rural economy. To do so it has 'mainstreamed' the needs of rural Scotland within all of its policies.

In this way, rather than setting rural Scotland aside as something different or a special case, it has encouraged all policy makers to take the needs of rural areas seriously and to adapt their policies to meet local needs and circumstances wherever possible.

A number of bodies and mechanisms exist to oversee and co-ordinate the Government's approach to rural development. These ensure that all of the Government's policies are sensitive to the needs and circumstances of rural communities. They also keep policy makers in touch with the views of the communities they serve.”

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/farmingrural/Rural/rural-communities

Areas highlighted under ‘rural communities’

• Rural Services :Helping to build thriving rural communities.

• Access to Funding: Rural funding opportunities.

• Scottish National Rural Network :Connecting rural communities.

• Rural Development Council: Areas of Importance for Rural Communities

Addressing rural governance/policy challenges at local level

• Local authority : concordat and removal of ring fencing

• Community planning partnerships

• Local Action Groups and LEADER (however, proportion of funding is small )

• Empowerment action plan

• Social enterprises in service delivery

Also other players : e.g. Carnegie UK Trust, who have sought to focus on rural development in its wider sense, and on asset based approaches, etc

There is some way to go ….

• Mainstreaming of ‘rural’ considerations across government’s portfolios : mechanisms and reporting remain unclear

• Varied used of rural/urban classification system and lack of local level data

• Difficult to assess whether there is a coherent rural vision and who shares it?

• Continued proliferation of agencies ?

• Poor /weak local governance structures reinforced by representative democracy, rather than participatory democracy which encourages active and widespread engagement

• Lack of local tax raising powers and fiscal autonomy

• Lack of spaces for informed policy deliberation

Concluding thoughts/ questions

There are changes. However, based on my experience, there is at times a policy-action gap. Resource allocations reflect this disparity.

Quoting Chris Philo in the context of England ( 1992,p20), I also fear that there continues to be a danger of :

‘… portraying British rural people …. as all being ‘Mr Averages’ as being men in employment, earning enough to live and probably English, straight and somehow without sexuality, able in body and sound in mind, and devoid of any other quirks of (say) religious belief or political affiliation.’

Tokenistic involvement of one or two people from so called ‘non-traditional’ groups does not equate to real inclusion .

Concluding thoughts/ questions

Recent debates about climate change, resource scarcity, food security, etc are bringing ‘rural’ back on national agendas: is this likely to lead to a reinforcement of the sectoral emphasis on rural policy making ?

If we accept that we need a different paradigm for rural policy making that is place based and multi-sectoral :

• Should we avoid essentialist notions of ‘rural/urban’ and develop a ‘deep’ understanding urban-rural linkages? How do we do this?

• How will knowledge held by a wide variety of stakeholders, public, private actors and third sector be pooled and coordinated ?

• What kind of adjustments in administrative structures at central and local government levels are required to undertake this pooling and to administer multi-sectoral policies effectively? What mechanisms might be useful ?

Concluding thoughts/ questions• What is the appropriate geographical unit for ‘place’ based policies – e.g.

regional ? community ? Is it more about regional development rather than ‘rural’ development?

• Can effective ‘place based policies’ be achieved without governance mechanisms at a local level ?

• What has to be done to ensure that ‘place’ based policies also address the requirements of communities of interest which may cut across places?

• What has to be done to ensure that rural communities act in a flexible and dynamic way whilst also ensuring consistency in public policy across sectors and regions?

• The research and policy framework for a place based multi-sectoral rural strategy will require a variety of analytical approaches and individuals to work across sectoral and disciplinary boundaries to achieve ‘integrated’ rural development . How do we track changing trends and measure progress ?

References

• OECD (2006) The New Rural Paradigm, OECD Publishing

• OECD (2006) Policy Briefing : Reinventing Rural Policy, OECD Publishing

• OECD (2008) Rural Policy Reviews Scotland, UK , OECD Publishing

• Scottish Government Website ‘Rural issues in Scotland’ at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/farmingrural/Rural

• UHI Policy Web (2008) Policy Brief: The OECD Review of Scottish Rural Policy

Thank you

Dr Philomena de Lima Director, UHI Centre for Remote and Rural studies

Philomena.deLima@invernessuhi.ac.uk

CRRS website : www.crrs.uhi.ac.uk

CRRS email : crrs@uhi.ac.uk