Scotland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020 - Consultation on Stage 1 Proposals : An Analysis of Responses

1 Introduction and Background

1.1 This report presents an analysis of the 151 submissions received in response to the Scottish Government's Consultation on Scotland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020: Initial Proposals.^[1]

Background

1.2 The Scotland Rural Development Programme (SRDP) is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the Scottish Government and provides financial support to businesses and communities across rural Scotland. The current programme (2007-2013) has provided £1.2bn to more than 7,500 businesses and 2,000 community projects.

1.3 The SRDP is seen as making an important contribution to the Scottish Government's commitments to create a greener, fairer and wealthier Scotland.^[2] A mid term evaluation of the current SRDP recognised its considerable achievements.^[3] However, it also highlighted a number of issues, including the differential effectiveness of different parts of the programme and the complexity of the administrative arrangements.

The consultation

1.4 The Scottish Government is required to submit a new programme for approval in order to access EAFRD funds for the period 2014-2020. Building on the Mid Term Evaluation and work already undertaken with stakeholders, The Consultation on Scotland Rural Development Programme 2014-2020: Initial Proposals aimed to gather feedback which would inform development of more detailed proposals for the new programme (due for consultation in late 2013).

1.5 The consultation paper outlined the importance of learning from the current programme and addressing the issues of effectiveness and complexity. Given the expectation of a 10%-20% SRDP budget reduction, the consultation paper was also clear about the need to take a strategic approach and focus on key priorities to ensure maximum value from the available funds. Within this broad context, comment was invited on initial thinking on the new programme.

1.6 The consultation ran from 1 May to 30 June 2013. The consultation paper was issued directly to around 350 interested parties and was available on the Scottish Government website (with hard copies available on request). The SRDP policy team also organised a series of regional road shows to promote awareness of the consultation. A summary document, video and podcast were also available on the consultation website.

1.7 The consultation paper included a total of 29 questions. The majority of the questions (24) invited respondents to indicate agreement or disagreement (yes / no) with the Scottish Government's proposals and explain the reasons for their views. Five questions invited views on a proposal or issue without seeking agreement or disagreement.

Approach to the analysis

1.8 The aim of this report is to present an analysis of the comments received, representing the range of views submitted. All responses were entered into a database structured around the consultation questions. Comments from non-standard responses (i.e. those not following the consultation questionnaire) were entered against relevant questions as appropriate. Comments not relating to any of the set questions were also entered into a separate field and included in the analysis.

1.9 The analysis was largely qualitative in nature. However, quantitative analysis was undertaken for the yes / no questions. If the respondent did not answer a yes / no question, where possible, their agreement or disagreement with the proposal was inferred from their comments. If it was not possible to infer agreement or disagreement, the tick-box response was classified as 'Other'. The 'Other' category takes account of different types of responses, including: mixed views (the respondent set out the pros and cons of the proposal without making their own view clear); no views (the respondent stated that they have no view on the proposal, but nevertheless made a relevant comment); uncertain views (the respondent said they required further details before they could form an opinion on the proposal).

1.10 Quantitative findings are presented in tables for relevant questions. However, these findings should be regarded as indicative only. It was clear that many of those indicating agreement with certain proposals did so in principle only, often going on to express significant caveats or concerns or to set conditions upon their agreement. These generally overlapped with the concerns raised by those who disagreed with the proposals. As such, the value of the consultation comes from gaining an understanding of what respondents liked and did not like about the proposals, rather than from the levels of agreement / disagreement expressed.

1.11 Throughout the report the main focus is on exploring the qualitative views submitted by respondents. However, in considering the findings of the analysis (both quantitative and qualitative), it is important to bear in mind that views gathered through an open consultation exercise cannot be regarded as representative of the views of the population as a whole. Rather, they tend to be the views of people who have an interest in the subject and the time and opportunity to take part.

Structure of the report

1.12 Chapter 2 provides details of the respondents and the responses received. Chapters 3 -13 provide an analysis of respondents' comments on the 29 consultation questions. These chapters largely follow the structure of the original consultation document. The exception is in relation to Question 19, which is considered together with Questions 25 and 26 as part of a discussion about SRDP advisory services.