| Weekly summary - 18 October 2010 |  This is the 100th Hinterland. Here's to the next century and thank you all for keeping up with me over the last 2 years of grinding it out (with help from a few good friends) every week. The idea was born from a chat in the John Betjeman Pub at St Pancras - I must spend more time thinking in such places!
Thank you to all those who sent me examples of service innovation last week. I increasingly feel that "it's the community stupid" which drives rural innovation rather than clever and potentially previously un-thought of ways of doing things per se. It certainly seems for example, in terms of rural schools, that survival has far more to do with the commitment of parents, teachers and pupils to them than their size (particularly at primary level).
It seems that libraries have more to offer around stimulating community capacity and acting as a portal for people in terms of accessing and influencing public services than lending books. My researches suggest the capacity to move people around rural England is mainly constrained by the imagination of communities rather than a lack of buses or permissive legislation to support new and exciting ways of tackling access challenges. If you want to know more, as ever, get in touch.
Finally I must mourn the passing of another hero - Norman Wisdom not a rural icon in anyway but nonetheless an innocently and truly funny man. I wonder in these more cynical times how he would have fared on "Britain's got Talent"!
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| Spending Review: what it means for Communities and Local Government |
The comprehensive spending review is days away. The newspapers are now beginning to trail in more detail what it will mean for different government departments. By default, with the gradual shrinking of the communities element of work in Defra, I would argue that CLG is the largest and most important department in terms of rural issues (for example as the home department of local authorities - which spend much more than Defra as a whole in rural England).
This article explains how: "The Local Government Association has warned that councils could be left with an annual shortfall of between £12.5bn and £20bn by 2014-5 if no changes were made to the way public services are delivered. Other non-statutory services funded by the department are also likely to be under threat, such as meals-on-wheels services for the elderly and adult social care. The scale of the cuts required could also mean that plans for elected mayors in 12 English cities are scrapped on cost grounds. The department has said that it is looking to give councils more ability to borrow against their own assets, as well charge more for some services, such as fees for planning applications."
I think the whole agenda of freeing up councils to innovate using their own resources to finance local priorities more imaginatively could make a real contribution not just to preserving services but in terms of creating a new way of doing things for the long term. This could lead to a step change in the effectiveness and approach of councils. It is time to bin a mawkish and backward looking approach to living with cuts and to begin instead to do just that - live with the cuts - positively. I think whilst this is going to be painful it is also a real impetus to positive change and innovation.
I heard a brilliant description yesterday of how North Dorset completely re-invigorated their approach to service delivery as a consequence of a loss of 25% of their budget. On the back of it they have more sustainable services and more resilient local communities. The challenge for the likes of those of us hatched out of a "Local Government Egg" is to think about how we can follow suit. If you want to know more about the North Dorset experience, drop me an email. |
Mutualisation on cards for Post Office
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As you will all know I have a lot of time for the Co-op and mutuals more generally. I think the idea of a mutual Post Office network offers a real opportunity to better link the organisation into local communities. It seems to me this model has real potential to join up with a number of other community focused approaches to service provision to offer a new vision of service delivery in rural England. A vision based on "turning round" the telescope and focusing from the bottom up on community approaches to service provision.
Sylvia Brown of ACRE has produced a brilliant diagram of how community led planning could be the creative glue for biding together a welter of the new "Big Society" initiatives of the current Government. In all this talk of local approaches and localism more generally there are many challenges to avoiding the NIMBY based unintended consequences of passing more power to local communities. If they can be overcome we could be on the threshold of a new and exciting re-dressing of the balance of power in favour of localities. If you want to see Sylvia's diagram have a look at page 41 of the Rural Coalition "Rural Challenge" document. |
Britons use three times
the planet's resources
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 (Link: Independent, 13 October)This article is interesting in terms of a range of factors relevant to rural England in relation to carbon usage. It tells how: "People in the UK consume almost three times as much of the planet's resources than they should do, making it 31st in the table of ecological footprints. The country has fallen down the league table from having the 15th biggest footprint in the last report two years ago, but the World Wildlife Fund attributes this to an increase in other countries' impact rather than a reduction in the UK's use of resources. Eating meat and dairy has more impact on the planet than a largely vegetarian diet and the report suggest that the world would use less resources if people in rich countries change their diet." Our food industry (located predominantly in terms of livestock in rural England) and our rural car dependency (due to limited alternate transport options) both make rural England a bigger contributor (particularly when cow emissions are factored into the equation) to our carbon footprint than the traditional image of open spaces and small settlements would suggest. I remember whilst doing some work on rural Nottinghamshire last year I discovered that the most rural districts had the biggest carbon footprints per head. My great friend John Shepherd has done some work to map the carbon emissions of market towns and some of the emerging findings (more work to do) are fascinating. If you would like to know more please do get in touch. |
David Cameron to intervene
over cold weather payments |
This article explains how "David Cameron is to make a late intervention to block plans by the work and pensions secretary, Iain Duncan Smith, to cut emergency cold weather payments worth £25 a week, to £8.50 a week. The payments go to pensioners and the poor to compensate them for high fuel bills during exceptionally cold weather periods."
I am sure he must have read the RSN publication last week which made it clear that fuel poverty is disproportionately acute in rural England with a range of knock on effects around health. If he didn't he should have!
This story also makes me reflect on Minimum Income Standards work commissioned by the CRC which is soon due to report. I have a feeling there will be some new and quite revelatory information arising from this work which comes at the concept of the "rural premium" in its broadest manifestations (not just in terms of fuel costs) from a new and very powerful angle. |
Outback town's victory against all
odds halts march of the 'pokies' |
"Pokies" are poker machines and more than 20% of all such devices in the world are based in Australia. They have become an obsession in suburbs and cities after the liberalisation of gaming laws in Oz over a decade ago.
This tale from the other end of the world tells of how a rural community has mobilised itself to keep them out. It made me think about the previous interest - four years or so ago in casinos as drivers of regeneration- which now seems redolent of the frivolous economic time we found ourselves in then. I remember being delighted to have helped make the case for a casino in Skegness/Mablethorpe. I am still pleased with my contribution to a super long shot in the sense of helping pull off something which seemed almost impossible.
I do reflect however in the light of this story whether our approach to seeking to use something as inappropriate and un-natural to this part of rural England as a casino was driven more by desperation (in the teeth of a significant and ongoing regeneration challenge) than good judgement? In the end, with the loss of any momentum around the casino agenda from national government, plans in East Lindsey fizzled out and are now not dead but pretty moribund.
The experience of Romsey in the outback of Victoria reminds us that even in these troubled times there has to be more to rural regeneration than encouraging people to have a flutter. |
| Consultations | Here are some new ones:
Consultation on Reimbursement Arrangements for the Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme in England
This is a technical consultation on the reimbursement arrangements for concessionary travel. It is the country cousin of consultation on the arrangements for the moving of concessionary fare administration from Districts to Counties. Approaches to the implementation of the latter could have major impacts on rural authorities. To respond to the former, click here. To respond and lobbying in relation to the latter, contact Dan Bates at the RSN direct. Closes 11 November.
Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2010 - draft regulations
The consultation paper covers the consolidation of the 1999 Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, as amended, and explains amendments for screening changes and extensions. It also explains the requirement for the competent authority to provide reasons for screening decisions. A bit technical but important - click here for more information.
Closes 25 October.
A Simplified Further Education and
Skills Funding System and Methodology
The consultation examines ways in which the funding system and methodology for post-19 further education and skills can be simplified to ensure greater transparency for learners and employers and reduce burdens on Further Education colleges and training organisations aiding them to deliver high quality further education and skills training. Tthis is a big deal for rural England. I am happy to offer my views if it helps with your response. Read more here. Closes 14 October.
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| And finally... | | Man builds world's fastest mobility scooter
Daily Telegraph, 15 October 2010
This article tells how: "Colin Furze, 31, spent nearly three months converting the machine which has a powerful 125cc motorbike engine installed under the seat, five gears and twin exhausts. The petrol-powered super scooter, which is British racing green, can almost reach the national speed limit and keep up with cars on the motorway."
I know a range of people (including Jessica's Granny) who have or had the potential to be terrifying on these things at their normal speed of eight miles per hour - lets hope this new version doesn't catch on - otherwise we might all end up taking our lives in our hands trying to cross supermarket aisles in search of our favourite consumer durables.
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| About Us: | Hinterland is an exclusive weekly service offering a rural perspective on national news events from the past week.
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