Speech by Jonathan Shaw MP, to the LGA Rural Conference on “Helping and empowering rural communities to tackle climate change”, Torquay - Wednesday, 5 September 2007
Thank you very much.
I probably couldn’t have wished for a better occasion – or a better audience – to make my first speech as Rural Affairs Minister.
My C.V. includes some very happy times working for Kent county council, and as a local councillor in Rochester.
And my first few weeks in Defra have involved a lot of time with people and parts of government operating on the frontline.
I’ve had the chance to see some incredible work from the emergency services, the Environment Agency, and local authorities – all delivering for your communities in some genuinely challenging situations.
During the foot and mouth outbreak, staff from Surrey County Council have been shoulder to shoulder with Defra on access to footpaths and enforcing animal movement controls. Working tirelessly to do the things that actually prevented the disease from spreading.
And the summer’s flooding has seen some brilliant work by local authority colleagues – helping those affected, and leading the clear-up operations.
To my eyes, the last few weeks has been a demonstration of local government at its best – showing leadership, taking action, and delivering some superb results.
It’s also shown the importance of having the right partnerships in place. How the proper joining-up of national, regional and local efforts can make a real difference.
It’s clear that whatever problems the Government faces, the solutions are always harder to deliver without local councils, your knowledge of your communities, and your ability to translate policies into practice.
And, if ever we needed to be more than the sum of our parts, it’s been this summer.
The flooding is a reminder that rural people – and the places where they live and work – often find themselves at the sharp end when the serious challenges come along.
The farming industry has been hit particularly hard. And other rural businesses have also suffered.
And it’s another worrying indication of the risks we face from dangerous climate change – to our countryside, our communities, and the rural economy.
It also shows that land, rural or urban, is a precious resource that’s now under increasing pressure. From climate change. From the housing needs of a rising population. From the chronic over-use of our natural resources.
In truth, a long, hard look is needed if we’re to have any chance of securing positive outcomes from our approach to land-use policies for the future.
We need to do things in a much more joined-up way. And we need to take a longer view, because decisions on future priorities for land use could have major long-term consequences.
So the government has committed itself to a national debate about the future of land in this country.
A debate about what we want from land, and what the priorities should be.
About the ways that land can be used to deliver the biggest possible range of benefits.
About how we can square the circle between the needs of our natural environment, people’s quality of life, and the continuing economic prosperity we all want to see.
Local authorities have a crucial place-shaping role which needs to feature prominently as part of this debate. And I’m delighted that the LGA is already involved with both the policy development and practical pilots we are setting up to move the agenda forward.
A specific workshop session is taking place this afternoon to explore some of the key issues for rural areas. It should be a great opportunity to share your ideas and experiences of using land to deliver multiple benefits.
A policy debate is helpful, but issues like affordable rural housing still remain to be tackled on the ground.
In July, we took a useful step forward with the publication of the Housing Green Paper – reinforcing the principle that everyone should have the chance of a decent, affordable home in a place they want to live and work. That goes for rural areas too.
Changes to the planning system are a real result for rural areas. The new PPS3 takes forward many of the recommendations from the Affordable Rural Housing Commission. And it sets out a range of policies to ensure the needs of rural communities are considered as part of mainstream policy.
This is very good progress, but we have also asked the Housing Corporation to explore if a new funding programme is needed to overcome any local blockages to the delivery of affordable rural housing.
Any findings will need to be considered as part of the Comprehensive Spending Review process, but the Corporation will be working hard, over the next few months, to see what could make a difference. To support its work, the Corporation has already launched a consultation exercise to gather the evidence that’s needed.
This is a step forward, but there is still more to do. So my department will continue working across government to support housing policies that respond to rural needs and circumstances – and deliver new homes in the rural areas that need them most.
This approach matters, but we also recognise the importance of seeing rural issues – like land use, transport, education, and health – as reflections of the wider questions challenging society as a whole.
These are issues where public sector delivery needs to work for all areas – with rural places being part of that mix.
Rural areas do present some specific challenges – distribution and growth of population, and relationships with the natural environment, for example. But we don’t need top-down, “one-size fits all” rural policies. Those won’t do for rural communities – and they wouldn’t work for urban areas either.
Instead, some innovative approaches are needed to take us in the right direction - and our rural delivery pathfinders programme is starting to help with that.
Over the last 2 years, the programme has explored and tested opportunities for more joined up, flexible and effective rural delivery at the local level. Now we have a range of projects that are improving access to services, and helping communities feel more empowered and engaged.
One of this afternoon’s workshops will focus on the lessons learnt from the Rural Delivery Pathfinders Programme. I hope that some of you will go along and see for yourselves.
It shows that intelligent, targeted delivery solutions can make a difference, with decisions taken by locally empowered people.
Because there is no choice to be made when it comes to strengthening the role that local authorities can play. Your “know how” is essential to provide vision and leadership to your communities. So is your ability to raise awareness, and influence behaviours.
We can see the importance of that in connection with climate change.
This summers’ flooding is a stark reminder to us all. Acting, preparing, taking steps to reduce the risks of climate change, must remain a huge priority. Because the possibility of more and more extreme flood events is a very realistic scenario if nothing is done.
Nick Stern tells us that dealing with the consequences of climate change – after it’s happened – could cost between 5 and 20 times as much as acting to stop it now. And, if that’s the reality, the question we have to ask ourselves is how can we pull out all the stops to deal with it today?
One of the things I’ve learned from the last few weeks is each of us has to play a part – Secretaries of State and local councilors, chief executives and individual citizens, you and me.
We in national government can do a lot – not least in getting international agreement to tackle climate change.
But we won’t tackle global warming, or improve the environment we all share, unless local government also leads the way. Unless we can work even harder to build on your impressive achievements under the Nottingham Declaration. Unless we can share the innovation the best councils are demonstrating, right across the country.
That’s why I’m pleased to be launching this latest guidance for town and parish councils on “Ways to Tackle Climate Change”. Copies are included in your conference packs.
The guide isn’t clever or complicated. It's simple stuff, which means we can all act on it. It's valuable, because it capitalises on the expert local knowledge local authorities have – including parish and town councils, who it’s mainly designed for. And it recognises that local authorities are often in a better position than anyone else to find the right solutions at the community level to help mitigate the impacts of climate change.
It’s also valuable because it recognises the importance of joining forces. Marshalling the help that’s available from local environmental groups, the third sector, volunteers. Working with passionate people, caring people, people who can make a difference.
Of course, it takes its lead from the impressive work so many parish and town councils are already doing to stimulate community action and tackle climate change. And it highlights the potential gains from simple innovations – putting a premium on good ideas like the energy efficient solar lighting Euxton Parish Council uses in its recreational spaces.
I’ve seen some great things happening at Parish council level. The village of Ashton Hayes has had a lot of good publicity for aiming to be the first 'carbon neutral' village. It’s a brilliant idea – and it managed to get off the ground because the parish council played a massive role in firing people up to get involved.
It’s just one example of the continuing leadership that many of you provide – taking the big policy issues to the heart of your communities, and really making something happen.
This year, you also have some sharper tools in the box. The Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006 includes a variety of measures on the role of local authorities and parish councils.
The Act supports microgeneration, energy efficiency, and Building Regulations. Community energy schemes. Renewable heat. Electricity from sustainable sources.
It also requires the Government to publish guidance that helps local authorities improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and tackle fuel poverty. We’re hoping to launch the guidance in the next week or so.
Government can and is putting in place the framework to deliver, but it’s the regional and local tiers who are best placed to work out local needs and plan to meet them.
Because it all works best when it’s a proper partnership. And all levels are essential.
I look forward to working with you on that. And I hope we can push hard to really take things forward – on climate change, land use and the rural agendas, which increasingly look like one and the same.
Thank you.
Page last modified: 21 September 2007
Page published:
21 September 2007