12:08pm Tuesday 18th November 2008
Definitions are an integral part of the policy-making process. A definition will set out the remit of a policy and will ultimately decide whom it affects and what in covers. So getting a definition right can be the difference between a successful policy and an unsuccessful one.
Last week, we received an update on the Assembly Government’s commitment to identify and address the needs of deep rural areas of Wales. As of April this year, the Assembly Government already ‘rural proofs’ its policies, and now it’s looking to address the very particular needs of our most remote rural communities.
Defining what qualifies as a deep rural area isn’t as straight forward as it might seem. There are several competing definitions; for example, in America they define it as a community of fewer than 2,500 people, whereas in England, the Commission for Integrated Transport considers communities of 3,000 people to be deeply rural. In the end, after a lot of number crunching, the Assembly Government has settled on the definition of ‘a community which is more than 30 minutes drive from a settlement with a population of 10,000+’.
The Minister announced four new study areas - including Tegryn in north Pembrokeshire – which will be used to identify the needs of remote communities in Wales. The research work will be carried out by the Rural Observatory and will look at a broad range of services, not just those that the Assembly is responsible for, but services that come under the control of local government and Westminster too.
As someone who has lived, worked and run small businesses in rural communities for many years, and who now represents some of Wales’ most remote areas, I realise that people too often use the term 'Rural Wales' to lump together towns and villages that are very different, and which have very different needs and priorities. This can be a recipe for bad policy-making.
Access to services isn’t about rural and urban, or semi-rural and deep rural communities competing for resources and services, it’s about ensuring everyone in Wales, no matter where they live, has equal access to world-class public services. So I will be very interested to see what the conclusions and recommendations are, when the study reports back to the Assembly next summer. My hope is that they will help further to deliver equality right across Wales.
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