Rural policy and the new Scottish Parliament: Major one-day conference to explore government’s commitment to Scottish rural life
A major conference which will explore the new Scottish Parliament’s commitment to rural policy, in particular the three main policy arenas affecting Scottish rural life, will take place in Aberdeen next week (Wednesday, November 3).
Minister for Rural Affairs Ross Finnie MSP will officially launch The Scottish Parliament and Rural
Policy: What Room for Manoeuvre? which has been organised by the University of Aberdeen’s Department of Agriculture and the Arkleton Centre for Rural Development Research. It will take place at King’s College Conference Centre.
The conference will feature sessions by a wide range of leading academics and experts in the field of rural policy, including Professor Greg Lloyd, University of Dundee; Professor John Fairley, University of Strathclyde; Professor Mark Shucksmith, University of Aberdeen, and prominent environmentalist Andrew Raven.
It will explore the extent to which the Scottish Parliament is able to customise policies and create new modes of governance. There will also be presentations in each of the three rural policy arenas: the economy, the social domain and environment that highlight the opportunities and problems.
The day will conclude with a Question Time-style panel discussion with MSPs Mike Rumbles (Liberal Democrats), Alastair Morgan (SNP), Elaine Murray (Labour) and Alex Johnstone (Conservative). Professor Trevor Salmon, of the University’s Department of Politics and International Relations, will chair the event.
Since the 1997 general election, rural areas have been the context for a wide-ranging debate about future policies. A range of discussion papers and policy proposals have been issued by the Scottish Office, for example on rural development, land reform and national parks, whilst the Agenda 2000 proposals for CAP and Regional Policies have recently been agreed upon at an EU level. These policy changes embrace economic, social and environmental aspects of rural areas.
The organisers of the conference said the rationale for the meeting is to explore the room for manoeuvre arising from the creation of the Scottish parliament.
“A Scottish parliament is now in place with a mandate to act on some of these key concerns and as such we are interested in looking at a number of issues including which way will policies move, what new policy instruments can be anticipated and what kind of devolution will take place within Scotland which will affect rural areas?
“We will also consider whether there is a 'devolution dividend' or whether Scotland could lose out as a result of declining public expenditure from Whitehall. What kind of macro-economic environment is likely to emerge in Scotland and what new structures of governance will emerge?
“Because of Scotland's distinctive patterns of land use and ownership and with different economic, social and environmental problems compared to other parts of the UK, devolution offers Scotland an opportunity to devise appropriate policies to address its particular blend of problems and opportunities.”
Anyone wishing to attend the conference, or requiring further information, should contact Irene Wilson in the Department of Agriculture on (01224) 274264.