Policy, information and research news from the Rural Team
of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations

June 2008

Rural Direct is go!
Helping rural communities to access funding

SCVO's Rural Team have been contracted by the Scottish Government to work with the Crofters Commission to deliver the Rural Direct service, helping rural community groups to access funding.

Rural communities already have access to advice from their local Councils for Voluntary Service, local authorities and a range of other sources including the SCVO-run Rural Gateway. But with recent changes, the funding landscape has become both more complicated and richer with opportunities for community groups.

The Rural Direct service has been funded to complement and add value to existing sources of information and support and to help rural community groups identify and make the most of funding opportunities.

Scotland is divided into eleven SRDP areas (if you're not sure which one you're in, check here ) and SCVO will have responsibility for providing this service in seven of these:

Grampian and Moray
Ayrshire
Forth
Clyde Valley
Tayside
Dumfries & Galloway
Borders

They will also have responsibiity for a small part of Highland. SCVO project staff will work closely with LEADER LAG staff and RPAC Case Officers and liaise with local CVSs to promote the service and highlight funding opportunities through events, roadshows and briefings. They will provide support in person, by phone and by email for groups who request help in identifying appropriate funding, developing applications and building local development strategies. For applicants to the SRDP Rural Priorities scheme, they can assist with the early stages of getting a Business Reference Number, and also with the online application process.

The service was launched by Cabinet Secretary Richard Lochhead in Inverness on June 9th, and the SCVO and Crofters Commission Rural Direct teams are now in a development phase, working hard to build up ressources and establish good working relationships across all the SRDP regions in Scotland.

For general inquiries about Rural Direct, call 0845 838 8598 or email info@rural direct.org.uk. The services web pages will be going live very shortly at www.ruraldirect.org.uk , but as of today that link takes you to a news story about the service on the Rural Gateway.

If you want an update on funding available through the Scottish Rural Development Programme, including Rural Priorities and LEADER, check out Sandra Hogg's Funding Latest here .

Village Halls Research programme begins

A major new piece of research into the current state, usage and provision of community buildings in rural Scotland has been commissioned by the Scottish Government. This very welcome initiative is a direct response to SCVO's Halls for All campaign, and follows on from the very successful Village Halls Summit 2008 (see the report on the event here ). The research is being jointly managed by SCVO, and carried out by a team from the Scottish Agricultural College, headed up by Dr Sarah Skerratt. We are confident it's going to be a very high quality piece of work.

It's certainly much-needed - to quote from the Government's research tender document:

There are an estimated 3,000 community-owned or managed buildings across Scotland which are key facilities for the location and delivery of services. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive and reliable information about the location, condition and use of these buildings. Up to 80% of these may be in rural areas, where they are particularly important as a hub for social and cultural life in a community. Their role is often undervalued, yet many communities depend upon these sites for accessing services and to make possible thriving and sustainable communities. The existence and operation of these venues often depends on the good will of committees of dedicated volunteers who offer their time and skills to maintain and manage the venues, and, therefore, offer people in rural areas access to health and advice services, and to affordable recreational, cultural, educational and sports facilities.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations fulfils a critical role in providing advice, resources, and networking and learning opportunities for those involved in the running of community buildings. In June 2007, as part of its Halls for All campaign, the SCVO lodged a petition with the Scottish Parliament, which called for greater central government support for village halls and other community buildings and for comprehensive research to establish a baseline of information about village halls in Scotland that will inform the debate on the best ways of supporting them. The petition highlighted the need for more support and funding for Scotland's network of village halls and community buildings.

Having heard representations from SCVO in November, the Public Petitions Committee wrote to the Scottish Government for a response. The research described in this specification is a core element of the SG response to the petition, of which it was broadly supportive, and it reflects the SG recognition that we currently lack a good understanding of the provision, condition and usage of community facilities and their importance in rural areas. One effect of this lack of understanding is that it hinders communities when seeking funding and hampers the consideration of applications by regional assessment committees.

We're holding fire on any major campaigning initiatives on village halls and community facilities until the results of the research are published this autumn, but we hope to use the report as the basis for the next round of village hall events.

Rural consultations
Rural schools and CAP Healthcheck

T wo current consultations worth your attention:

The first is on Safeguarding rural schools and improving school consultation procedures , and closes on 19th September. According to the Scottish Government: "This consultation seeks views on proposals to improve the way school closures are handled and ensure the decision to close a rural school is one of last resort. Our objective is to establish a system that is coherent, easy to understand, fair and transparent. Above all we want a system that has the trust and confidence of the public."

The other is less user-friendly, but still very important for all of rural Scotland. The consultation on the future implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy in Scotland is in response to the European Commission's "CAP Health Check", and will set a course for spending on agricultural support and wider rural development for years to come. The consultation closes on 5 September, and SCVO will be issuing a detailed briefing on it in July. We're particularly keen to get community groups and others with an interest in wider rural development to respond, because their views are currently unrepresented on the Scottish Government's CAP Health Check Stakeholder Group, which we think is regrettable.

Water charges exemption set to continue

In case you didn't pick it up at the time, the Scottish Government last month made clear its determination to continue its Water Rates Exemption for the voluntary sector. The exemption will continue the current scheme until 2014, giving relief to the many voluntary organisations and charities including many community and village halls that would have found it impossible to pay water charges. Voluntary organisations are, though, concerned that the scheme may remain very complex.

The Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations has written to the Minister to ask for a meeting about what steps will be taken to simplify the scheme. SCVO believes that the exemption should apply to all voluntary organisations that are registered as charities. SCVO Deputy Chief Executive Lucy McTernan said: "We are delighted that the Government is intending to extend the exemption for voluntary organisations for another 4 years. However, the scheme could easily be made more cost effective, better and less bureaucratic. We hope Ministers will take this opportunity to ensure the scheme becomes more accessible."

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