21 May 2004
Consideration of rural issues needs to be more widely embedded in the planning and delivery of services by local authorities, research has found.
A survey of councils with rural areas shows that many are still not considering the impact of policies on these localities as a standard part of service planning.
The research, jointly commissioned by the Countryside Agency and the Local Government Association, found that most councils acknowledged the usefulness of 'rural proofing' of policies.
But it also indicated that 41% of them do not incorporate rural proofing into the Comprehensive Performance Assessment and 46% do not consider it in relation to Best Value.
It identified slow progress in getting other local service organisations to rural proof their activities: although 98% of authorities surveyed were in a local strategic partnership, just 32% used the LSP rural proofing checklist.
Paul Bettison, chair of the LGA's rural commission, said: 'We need a clear strategy to promote the issues to a range of organisations such as the police and primary care trusts as well as government inspectorates.'
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