Transcript SRP presentationx

Pàrlamaid Dhùthchail na h-Alba
www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk
[email protected]
T @ScotRuralParl
F Scottish Rural Parliament
What is the Rural Parliament?
• Stronger voice and influence in decision-making and policy
• Consider the challenges we face together and find innovative
solutions
• Rural movement
• A meeting place and celebration of rural every two years
• Independent from, but supported and part-funded by Scottish
Government – so we know they are listening
What isn’t the Rural Parliament?
• A formal part of government with decision-making powers
• Representative democracy
• Another opportunity for agencies to talk to each other – the
Rural Parliament is for all people to participate in as equals
• Allied to any political party or viewpoint
Why do we need it?
• Rural Scotland is 95% of land and 20% of people
• Rural areas have many issues in common
• Policy tends to be ‘sectoral’ or geographical
• Rural is different to urban and sometimes needs to
be thought about separately
• Evidence from other Rural Parliaments in Europe
show the benefits to rural areas
Why do we need it?
“If you had a gathering of Rural Scotland, you would have the Ministers and
heads of agencies present. If we were all in one room with the rural
communities, that could produce dividends.”
Richard Lochhead,
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment – May 2012
“The evidence… shows, unequivocally, the need to tailor national policy to fit
rural and the diversity of rural. Not to separate rural, and not to privilege rural
over urban, but to fit policy to what rural Scotland and life in rural Scotland is
like.”
Dr. Sarah Skerratt, Scottish Rural College
Who manages it?
• A company limited by guarantee and not for profit called Scottish
Rural Action
• Directors (volunteers) are from
– Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations
– Scottish Community Alliance
– Scottish Islands Federation
– Community Woodlands Association
– Community Land Scotland
– RP Adviser and European Rural Community Alliance
– Scottish Youth Parliament
– Rural businesses
They live all over rural Scotland - from Orkney to the Borders to the Western
Isles.
• AGM on 6th March
What’s happened so far?
• Survey – key themes
• Local events
• Twitter debates
• Attendance at events
• National meeting
Agenda
• Empowerment – Democratic structures;
Community visioning; access to assets;
support for communities
• Connectivity – Broadband/mobile;
transport; to each other
• Sustainability – Key services; Employment;
Better planning; Housing; Quality of life;
Living sustainably
Five asks of Scottish Government
• Commit to supporting rural communities and the Rural Parliament
to decide and deliver more of what we aspire to
• Work with us to agree where you are best placed to deliver our
agenda and to develop a plan of action
• Focus on and involve us in agreeing tailored support arrangements
to allow more community led actions
• Commit to co-creating a national conversation on community
democratic power as a first step towards reformed local democratic
arrangements
• Commit to agree with us a range of rural outcome measures and
monitoring arrangements
What happens next?
• Strategic planning
• AGM on 6th March
• Debate in Scottish Parliament
• European Rural Parliament
• Stocktaking day
Pàrlamaid Dhùthchail na h-Alba
FIND OUT MORE, JOIN & REGISTER FOR UPDATES:
www.scottishruralparliament.org.uk
[email protected]
T @ScotRuralParl
F Scottish Rural Parliament