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21/07/2004
Beckett outlines 'radical agenda' for rural communities
A radical agenda designed to deliver "genuinely sustainable reforms" for rural communities and the countryside have been presented to Parliament today.
The strategy will see an increase of £27 million in the funding Defra provides to the Regional Development Authorities (RDAs), from £45 million to £72 million next year.
The government's Rural Strategy 2004 sets out three key priorities on: supporting enterprise across rural England, but targeting greater resources at areas of greatest need; tackling social exclusion wherever it occurs and providing fair access to services and opportunities for all rural people; and protecting the natural environment for this and future generations.
Launching the strategy, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, said: "I will devolve decision-making and funding for economic regeneration to the RDAs to allow decisions to reflect better the needs and pressures in each region.
"This would involve joined-up partnership working closer to the front-line with the most appropriate local organisations - local authorities, voluntary groups or social enterprises," she said.
Defra will create a "small and well-focussed" New Countryside Agency by next April to act as an expert 'watchdog' and advocate on behalf of rural communities, particularly the disadvantaged.
"I am establishing an Integrated Agency to deliver our policy objective of a healthy countryside valued and used in a sustainable way," she said.
(gmcg)
The strategy will see an increase of £27 million in the funding Defra provides to the Regional Development Authorities (RDAs), from £45 million to £72 million next year.
The government's Rural Strategy 2004 sets out three key priorities on: supporting enterprise across rural England, but targeting greater resources at areas of greatest need; tackling social exclusion wherever it occurs and providing fair access to services and opportunities for all rural people; and protecting the natural environment for this and future generations.
Launching the strategy, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Margaret Beckett, said: "I will devolve decision-making and funding for economic regeneration to the RDAs to allow decisions to reflect better the needs and pressures in each region.
"This would involve joined-up partnership working closer to the front-line with the most appropriate local organisations - local authorities, voluntary groups or social enterprises," she said.
Defra will create a "small and well-focussed" New Countryside Agency by next April to act as an expert 'watchdog' and advocate on behalf of rural communities, particularly the disadvantaged.
"I am establishing an Integrated Agency to deliver our policy objective of a healthy countryside valued and used in a sustainable way," she said.
(gmcg)
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