The results of a two-year government programme ‘Rural challenges, local solutions’ aimed at improving rural services have been published by Defra. As part of the Rural Delivery Pathfinder programme, eight Pathfinders were set up across England to build on improvements being made in response to local challenges in service delivery.

The rural delivery pathfinders - in Shropshire, Lancashire, Fens, East Riding of Yorkshire, Dorset, Hampshire, Derbyshire Dales and West Durham - each developed a shared, agreed action plan to tackle priorities and identify practical solutions to identified gaps, blockages or failures in service delivery.

The report highlights the finding that partnership working is critical to success, and that communities must be directly engaged in defining what they want and how to deliver it. It also demonstrated how local authorities, that show leadership and innovation, play an important role in delivering solutions.

Launching the report at the LGA's annual improvement conference in Bristol on February 28, minister for local government, John Healey said: “This innovative programme has achieved important improvements for people in rural areas, and gives us a better understanding of the issues affecting rural services. The rural delivery Pathfinders also show that when local authorities have a stronger voice and greater freedom to find solutions, they can better meet the needs of their communities.”

The Shropshire Rural Pathfinder was able to trial a range of different methods of delivering services to remote communities. Video conferencing was used to deliver Citizens Advice Bureau services, and council services were provided to rural communities in village halls or by working in partnership with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service using their outreach vehicle. The outcome of these pilots has been the roll out of a network of video conferencing units, known as Telly Talk. These are used to deliver council and partner services face to face with communities who live many miles away from where the customer advisers are located.

The Rural Delivery Pathfinder programme was launched jointly by Defra and local government in March 2005 to look at innovation in the delivery of rural services, test opportunities for more joined-up, flexible working and look at local priorities. Actions and outcomes are being embedded in a number of delivery plans, including Local Area Agreements.

Minister for rural affairs, Jonathan Shaw said: “The achievements of each pathfinder are distinctive, reflecting local priorities and circumstances. They have worked together to get more value out of funding streams and have brought strong leadership to improving rural services. I congratulate the local authorities involved for the success they have achieved and I look forward to seeing them and others share the learning and build on that success.”