Hall Aitken with our partners at the National Centre for Migration Studies carried out research into how people in rural Scotland get involved in decisions that affect their every day lives. Commissioned by the Scottish Consumer Council, the research involved an omnibus survey across Scotland, interviews with policy-makers and five case studies of rural community groups.

We identified that building the capacity and leadership of people in the community is important. And we highlighted that the levels of support available in different parts of Scotland vary. Outside the Highlands and Islands, the Enterprise agency (Scottish Enterprise) has no community development remit and Communities Scotland is focuses on addressing urban issues.

We also compared the situation in Scotland with other European nations and found that ours is one of the few countries that lacks a grass-roots network to promote the views of rural communities. It appears that Scotland’s rural voice has been dominated by sectoral interests rather than those living and working in our rural communities.

Among our other findings was the need to make community planning work more effectively by devolving more resources and decision-making powers to communities. To do this we proposed more transparency in the local decision-making process. We also proposed a stronger and clearer role for Community Councils in ensuring decisions are accountable.

Our research received widespread coverage in the national press and media. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs Richard Lochhead has requested a presentation on the key findings of the research.  Project director Denis Donoghue (with Dame Barbara Kelly and Martyn Evans of the SCC) will be presenting to the Cabinet Secretary at the end of the month at the Scottish Parliament.

Further information is available from Denis Donoghue, tel: 0141 225 5502, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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