REORT OF THE

Cabinet / Leader

PART II

HAMPSHIRE RURAL PATHFINDER

Following a review by Lord Haskins of how rural services are delivered, it was recommended that Government should deliver more rural services through local government and local partnerships. As a result the Government announced eight Rural Pathfinders with Hampshire being selected as the Pathfinder area for the South East, led by Hampshire County Council as the accountable body. The Rural Pathfinders seek to tackle problems affecting local delivery, including prioritising resources and allowing the testing of new and innovative ways of delivering rural services with a clear focus on outcomes. It is anticipated that the Hampshire pathfinder will have a significant effect on improving services locally and this is borne out by the progress summarised below.

On 22 May 2006 the Cabinet considered a report on the progress and achievements of the Hampshire Rural Pathfinder programme and its links with the Hampshire Local Area Agreement (LAA). To date nineteen projects are being progressed by the Pathfinder Steering Group, some of which are still in their infancy, particularly where new partnerships have needed to be forged, whilst others have already produced first stage outputs such as reports on blockages and opportunities for improving service delivery. A notable success story for the Rural Pathfinder has been helping English Nature access Government funding to improve Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) by way of the New Forest Consents Project. This has resulted in the area of SSSI's in `favourable condition' increasing by 4,000 hectares since the inception of the programme.

Another significant topic that has emerged concerns the way government, including local government, relates to the farming and land management industry, which is of particular importance for a large rural county like Hampshire. The Rural Pathfinder is tackling a number of key issues derived from this topic through two initiatives, namely:

_ The South Downs and North Wessex Downs - the Management Plan is being developed by involving all the key Government agencies and the objective is that all public investment in land should be directed at meeting the Plan's objectives in an accountable way

_ A jointly funded project with the Countryside Agency, Test Valley Borough Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council and Winchester City Council has raised the necessary funds to run a national pre-pilot Local Land Management Framework to enable local needs and those of the Government to be articulated in one place and will include the needs of the farming industry.

Other issues such as the duplication of functions, distribution and delegation of European funds in order to encourage a more empowering approach and securing a change towards sustainable farming systems are being tackled by the County Council through the Local Government Association (LGA) and the LAA.

The Pathfinder has enabled the County Council and its partners to have a significant `hotline' to raise key Hampshire rural issues with Government and other agencies, and promote the key role of local government, working with other county councils, other pathfinder areas and through the LGA. David Milliband, the new Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs visited Butser Hill and Old Idsworth Farm in Petersfield on 10 May which presented an ideal opportunity for him to be introduced to the valuable work of the Rural Pathfinder.

In respect of the Hampshire LAA, the Rural Pathfinder will be playing a supporting role in the delivery of this Agreement. The Pathfinder Steering Group is the delivery mechanism for a part of the Economic block in support of a stronger economy in rural areas and is already developing projects to address this. There are also other links between the Pathfinder and LAA such as the development of Community Plans, led by Community Action Hampshire, which draws on a number of Pathfinder community projects.

The Pathfinder programme ends in March 2007 and will be fully evaluated by the October of that year. An exit strategy will be developed to disseminate the lessons learned. The Pathfinder Steering Group has begun to initiate debate on alternative options for the future direction and legacy of the Pathfinder, the aims of which will be to make rural delivery simpler, more efficient and customer friendly and to be linked formally to existing structures and strategies. In support of this, the Cabinet approved the preparation of an integrated Rural Strategy for the County Council's activities.

In conclusion, the Hampshire Rural Pathfinder continues to secure commitment and enthusiasm from a wide range of partners at a time of considerable change for rural areas and an evaluation of the programme will be reported back to the County Council in twelve months time.