A Scrutiny Review into the role and effectiveness of East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and partners in supporting sustainable rural communities

The Regional Scrutiny Board has undertaken a scrutiny review into the role and effectiveness of East Midlands Development Agency (emda) and partners in supporting sustainable rural communities. The review was led by Cllr Linda Neal of South Kesteven District Council. The final report of the review was published in November 2007.

The report backs emda’s ‘mainstreaming’ approach covering both urban and rural areas but suggests that better evidence would help emda and partners design policies that work equally well in rural and urban areas. Remote rural areas however may need special help, similar to the ‘New Deal’ approach in cities. ‘Flourishing Rural Communities?’ suggests that emda and partners should look at how the region’s Rural Action Plan is delivered and the role that Local Area Agreements can play. It advocates enhanced support for Social Enterprises delivering local services and better use of the skills of migrant workers.

The Recommendations are;

RECOMMENDATION 1 - ENHANCING EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT EFFECTIVE ACTIONS

emda are invited to further develop the enhanced rural evidence base through a collaborative, planned approach to commissioning, managing and sharing research that promotes a greater spatial understanding of the regional economy. This approach would support partnership working, emda’s responsibilities for rural policy (both current and future) and promote a wider understanding of the role of rural productivity. It should include:

a) Commissioning new research to examine the economic interactions between urban settlements and their rural hinterlands.

b) In partnership with partners, examine the potential to set up a group or mechanism dedicated to encouraging collaboration on rural research and a single point of access to rural data within the region, potentially hosted by Intelligence East Midlands.

RECOMMENDATION 2 - HARNESSING THE PRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL OF RURAL AREAS

In order to effectively work towards making rural areas more sustainable and economically productive through an integrated approach to managing development, emda and partners are invited to:

a) Assess the region’s rural spatial assets and market opportunities.

b) Build on recent studies of the nature and economic dynamics of migrant labour in the region to develop policies to promote its contribution to regional productivity.

c) Build on their current work investigating atypical employment patterns to consider the economic implications and potential of rural home-working.

RECOMMENDATION 3 - TACKLING MARKET FAILURE IN RURAL AREAS

To overcome market failures and deliver against the targets in the RES and Rural Action Plan, using the intelligence and analysis gathered through the review of the spatial dynamics of the regional economy and the market assessment of the region’s rural spatial assets, emda and partners are invited to:

a) Within the context of LAA and SSP responsibilities, consider how to further develop the integrated and area-based approach to overcoming multiple market failures in deprived remote rural areas.

b) Develop a programme to build community capacity in the countryside in partnership with Local Authorities by supporting the development of parish and small town councils and/or key voluntary and community sector bodies.

And assess the potential for developing:

c) ‘Blueprint’ to deliver more regeneration in rural areas.

d) An approach to the development of market towns as economic motors for the regeneration of rural areas by further stimulating business growth.

e) An approach to the development of social enterprises as a means of overcoming market failure in areas suffering from the loss of key private sector investment in basic services, for example, shops, pubs, post offices, school meals.

RECOMMENDATION 4 - BRINGING RURAL POLICY INTO THE ‘MAINSTREAM’

emda are invited to lead the process of developing an enhanced approach to ensuring that regional policy is designed, implemented and monitored with sensitivity to its impact on rural areas of the region and that such rural sensitivity is built into arrangements for managing funding devolved to other bodies

RECOMMENDATION 5 - RURAL ACTION PLAN & THE GOVERNANCE OF RURAL DELIVERY

In order to further promote effective regional rural governance and delivery of the Rural Action Plan, emda, EMRAF, GO-EM, Local Authorities and other partners are invited to:

a) Clarify their rural delivery roles to rural stakeholders.

b) Establish a group of key stakeholders with strategic and funding responsibilities for rural areas to promote further co-ordination of their strategies, programmes and funding and drive the delivery of the Rural Action Plan through sub-regional, multi-area and local activities. The group should be developed through consensus and linked to the Regional Co-ordination Forum and EMRAF.

c) Raise awareness of rural challenges and opportunities with those preparing Multi and Local Area Agreements and promote greater integration between their performance management frameworks and the Rural Action Plan objectives.

d) Establish robust monitoring and management arrangements for the Rural Action Plan and if, after a period of time considered appropriate by stakeholders, effective delivery progress is not made, partners should consider further prioritising the RAP in line with the Regional Skills Action Plan model.

RECOMMENDATION 6 - THE EUROPEAN CONTEXT

Key partners such as emda, EMRA, GO-EM and Local Authorities should continue to influence rural policy at national and EU levels by promoting a greater awareness and understanding of the needs, problems and opportunities of the region.

To inform the development of a focused remit for the review, EMRA commissioned a Scoping Study to establish the most important relevant current rural issues to be investigated and where a scrutiny review might add most value. The Scoping Study (310KB PDF) was reported to Regional Scrutiny Board in April 2007 and the final report of the review was published in November 2007. The Regional Scrutiny Board considered an emda Action Plan(176KB PDF) to implement the recommendations of ‘Flourishing Rural Communities’ in December 2007. A progress report  (165KB PDF) was considered by the RSB in June 2008.