Developing Performance Indicators for Rural Scotland: A Scoping Study
Scoping project assessing suitability of existing performance indicators to rural Scotland.
3.0 The National Performance Framework and rural Scotland
3.1 Indicators in the National Performance Framework
This chapter of the report provides an analysis of the Scottish Government's National Performance Framework in order to inform our subsequent analysis of rural performance indicators.
First, however, the current set of 45 indicators and targets included within the National Performance Framework have been assessed for their sensitivity to the needs of rural areas. The results are shown in Table 3.1 set against the five headline strategic objectives established by the Scottish Government:
- Safer and stronger
- Wealthier and fairer
- Smarter
- Healthier
- Greener
3.2 Approach to assessing relevance of indicators to rural Scotland
There is not a single 'Rural Strategy' that establishes priorities and themes for rural development (including agriculture) across Scotland. There is, however, the Scotland Rural Development Programme ( SRDP) 2007-2013 which, underpinned by a strategic plan and the programme, identifies a series of strategic outcomes. The outcomes include addressing business viability and competitiveness, biodiversity and landscape, water quality, climate change and wider rural development. The SRDP is monitored against a Common Monitoring and Evaluation Framework ( CMEF) applicable to all national programme participants across the EU. The key types of indicators utilised in this CMEF are set out in Annex Two.
The SRDP is an EU programme and whilst there exists scope for national determination of priorities, such as the identified of strategic outcomes for Scotland noted above, these are set within the context of the EU's priorities and the Axes under which funding is made available:
- Axis 1: Improving competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors.
- Axis 2: Improving the environment and countryside through land management.
- Axis 3: Improving quality of life through diversification of economic activity.
- Axis 4: LEADER.
Instead of using the themes in the SRDP, this study has used the key priorities arising from the OECD Review of Rural Scotland report as a means of identifying priority themes for rural Scotland. This OECD report identified the key priorities for Scotland's rural policy listed in Section 1.5.2:
- Addressing the shortage of rural housing and increasing demand for rural space for multiple use.
- Service delivery policy and investment strategies tackling education, healthcare and transport across rural areas (and taking account of an ageing population).
- Opportunities for economic development and diversification looking beyond agriculture.
- Developing a new approach to greater urban-rural interdependencies.
For the purposes of this study to describe the 'strategic significance to rural Scotland' of the indicators in the National Performance Framework, we have applied a three fold categorisation, and linking this to the OECD work, as well as the key themes highlighted with the Rural Scotland Key Facts, as shown below in Figure 3.2:
Figure 3.2: Criteria for Assessing Indicator Strategic Significance to rural Scotland
| Indicator descriptor |
Rationale |
OECD Key rural priority? |
OECD Rural Scotland S/W/O/T? |
Rural Scotland Key Facts key theme? |
| Predominantly Urban |
Issue is of greater significance in urban areas. |
X |
X |
X |
| Nationwide |
Issue is potentially equally significant in both urban and rural areas. |
v |
v/X |
X |
| Predominantly Rural |
Issue is of greater significance in rural areas. |
v |
v |
v |
3.3 Findings on relevance of indicators
Table 3.1 below provides our assessment of the 45 indicators and their relevance to rural Scotland. Applying these categories to the indicators inevitably involves a degree of subjective judgement and our interpretation is open to debate. This task was been undertaken through discussion with the Scottish Government National Performance Framework Team and a thorough review of the technical notes which support the 45 indicators and targets.
As shown in Table 3.1, four of the indicators are Predominantly Rural and all occur under the Greener strategic objective. That does not mean that these are the most important issues for rural areas. The Nationwide issues include some of the issues to which people will attach the greatest significance wherever they live. It is possible that the nature of the challenge for some of these is different in urban and rural areas.
Table 3.1: Assessing the Indicators in the National Performance Framework and their relevance to rural Scotland
| National Strategic Objective |
Key Priorities and Themes |
National Indicator/Target from Comprehensive Spending Review |
Strategic Significance to Rural Scotland |
| Safer and Stronger |
People and Communities |
Increase the social economy turnover |
Nationwide |
| Increase the % of adults who rate their neighbourhood as a good place to live |
Nationwide |
||
| Increase positive public perception of the general crime rate in the local area |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Increase the % of criminal cases dealt within 26 weeks by 3 percentage points by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Reduce overall reconviction rates by 2 percentage points by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Reduce overall crime victimisation rates by 2 percentage points by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Decrease the estimated number of problem drug users in Scotland by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Decrease the proportion of individuals living in poverty |
Nationwide |
||
| Increase the overall proportion of area child protection committees receiving positive inspection reports |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| All unintentionally homeless households entitled to settled accommodation by 2012 |
Nationwide |
||
| Wealthier and Fairer |
Economy and Enterprise |
Increase the business start up rate |
Nationwide |
| Increase the rate of new house building |
Nationwide |
||
| Grow exports at a faster average rate than GDP |
Nationwide |
||
| Improve public sector efficiency through the generation of 2% cash releasing efficiency savings per annum |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce the number of Scottish public bodies by 25% by 2011 |
Nationwide |
||
| Improve people's perceptions of the quality of public services delivered |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce the proportion of driver journeys delayed due to traffic congestion |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Improve people's perceptions, attitudes and awareness of Scotland's reputation |
Nationwide |
||
| Smarter |
Services and Lifestyle |
Increase the percentage of Scottish domiciled graduates from Scottish higher education institutions in positive destinations |
Nationwide |
| Increase the proportion of school leavers (from Scottish publicly funded schools) in positive and sustained destinations ( FE, HE, employment or training) |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Increase the proportion of schools receiving positive inspection reports |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce the number of working age people with severe literacy and numeracy problems |
Nationwide |
||
| Increase the proportion of pre-school centres receiving positive inspection reports |
Nationwide |
||
| At least halve the gap in total research and development spending compared with EU average by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Improve knowledge transfer from research activity in universities |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Healthier |
Services and Lifestyle |
Improve the quality of healthcare experience |
Nationwide |
| Increase the average score of adults on the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale by 2011 |
Nationwide |
||
| Increase healthy life expectancy at birth in the most deprived areas |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Reduce the percentage of the adult population who smoke to 22% by 2010 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Reduce alcohol related hospital admissions by 2011 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| 60% of school children in Primary 1 will have no signs of dental disease by 2010 |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce the rate of increase in the proportion of children with their Body Mass Index out with a healthy range by 2018 |
Nationwide |
||
| Achieve annual milestones for reducing inpatient or day case waiting times culminating in delivery of an 18 week referral to treatment times from December 2011 |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce the proportion of people aged 65 and over admitted as emergency inpatients two or more times a single year |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce mortality from coronary heart disease among the under 75s in deprived areas |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Increase the percentage of people aged 65 and over with high levels of care needs who are cared for at home |
Nationwide |
||
| Greener |
People and communities |
Increase to 95% the proportion of protected nature sites in favourable condition |
Predominantly Rural |
| Improve the state of Scotland's Historic Buildings, monuments and environment |
Predominantly Rural |
||
| Biodiversity: increase the index of abundance of terrestrial breeding birds |
Predominantly Rural |
||
| Increase the proportion of journeys to work made by public or active transport |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Increase the proportion of adults making one or more visits to the outdoors per week |
Nationwide |
||
| 50% of electricity generated in Scotland to come from renewable sources by 2020 (interim target of 31% by 2011) |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce overall ecological footprint |
Nationwide |
||
| Reduce to 1.32 million tonnes of waste sent to landfill by 2010 |
Predominantly Urban |
||
| Ensure 70% key commercial fish stocks at full reproductive capacity and harvested sustainably by 2015 |
Predominantly Rural |
3.4 Conclusion
This chapter has assessed the relevance of the Indicators in the National Performance Framework to rural Scotland using a three part categorisation. The analysis of the 45 indicators in the Scottish Government National Performance Framework found that the majority of the indicators (25) could be classified as nationwide, 16 predominantly related to urban areas and four predominantly rural. Although there is some subjectivity around classifying the indicators, considering the number of nationwide and predominantly rural indicators, it can be concluded that the National Performance Framework contains many indicators that are relevant to rural Scotland.
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