COUNCIL MEETING, 16 MAY 2005

REPORT OF THE

Cabinet / Leader

PART II

HAMPSHIRE RURAL PATHFINDER

1. On 14 April 2005 the Executive Member for Policy and Resources endorsed the approach for managing the Rural Pathfinder programme for the South East of England and allocated up to £100,000 from the corporate under spend for the duration of the two year programme.

2. The Government has chosen eight rural pathfinders across England. Hampshire has been selected as the pathfinder area for the South East Region, led by the County Council as the accountable body. Rural Pathfinders are to explore innovative mechanisms for devolving service delivery even closer to rural communities.

3. The Rural Pathfinders reflect the spirit of the Devolved Decision Making Review by seeking to tackle problems affecting local delivery, including prioritisation of resources, and allowing the testing of new and innovative ways of rural delivery. The Pathfinder presents an opportunity to consider ways of improving the whole approach to rural and natural resources protection policy through better prioritisation and a clear focus on outcomes. The Government is committed to mainstreaming the lessons learnt from the pathfinder projects, including across national and regional Government, within sub-regional partnerships and across all local authorities. There are thus real opportunities for the devolution of rural delivery locally, including to local authorities.

4. The purpose of the Rural Pathfinder in Hampshire is to test how to:

- make delivery of the rural services more effective (that is, that delivery activities and outcomes match agreed policies and resources match need);

- make the delivery of rural services more efficient (that is, that proportionately more resources are available to delivery);

- ensure that delivery of rural services is more customer-focused (that is, the needs of customers are met rather than those of the delivery organisations); and

- achieve greater local accountability for public sector investment in Hampshire.

5. Across the County Council the intention is that the Pathfinder should act as a catalyst to encourage more collaborative working with Government and other agencies and to improve service delivery for the customer. A corporate officer group has been established with input from a wide range of departments.

6. The overall aspirations of the Rural Pathfinder programme are for:

- public services focused on outcomes;

- consortia and a collaborative approach to delivery; and

- public services delivered and accountable locally, and a focus on empowerment rather than intervention.

7. If the programme is successful, rural communities (including the business and farming communities) will experience more joined up and flexible services at the local level, which meet local needs. There is a huge opportunity for the County Council as a whole and for the rest of local government to assist in delivering such services, with the devolution of national and regional public programmes to the local level and the integration of service delivery.

8. This decision supports Aims 1, 2 and 3 of the Corporate Strategy (Maximising life opportunities, Stewardship of the environment and Achieving economic prosperity) by protecting the environment and helping to promote high quality, accessible learning and caring services and a strong, diverse and sustainable economy in rural areas. In addition, this decision supports Aim 5 of the Corporate Strategy (Improving services) by seeking to test new ways of improving service delivery in rural areas to meet the needs of the whole community.

T. K. THORNBER, C.B.E.,

Leader.