Introduction to the Rural Needs Act

The Act introduces the duty on named public authorities to ”have due regard to rural needs when developing, adopting, implementing or revising policies, strategies and plans, and designing and delivering public services” in effect this means that government departments, local councils and other named public authorities should be “rural-proofing” their policy and service delivery.

The session will look at:

• The Legislative Basis of the Rural Needs Act

• The Definition of Rural

• What are the key elements public authorities should include in a Rural Issues Statement

• Mitigating the Impact

• Case studies of Rural proofing by public authorities

• Scrutinising and challenging rural proofing

• What are the opportunities and limitations of the process.

The session will last between 2 -3 hours long and will be a mixture of Powerpoint delivery, interactive exercises and small group discussion.

To register, contact Teresa at RCN.