Rural Deliver Plan: Ministerial Working Group minutes - October 2024

Attendees and apologies

Chairs

• Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic Kate Forbes (Co-Chair)
• Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon (Co-Chair)

Attendees

• Gillian Martin, Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy
• Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
• Jenny Gilruth, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
• Angus Robertson, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture
• Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Climate Action
• Natalie Don-Innes, Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise
• Jim Fairlie, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity
• Ivan McKee, Minister for Public Finance
• Paul McLennan, Minister for Housing

Officials

• Gregor Irwin, Director of General Economy
• Graeme Logan, Director of Learning
• Louise Macdonald, Director of General Communities
• Anna Densham, Deputy Director, Land Reform, Rural and Islands Policy
• David Fleetwood, Deputy Director, Strategy (SCS 1), Directorate for Strategy
• Donald Henderson, Deputy Director, Nature Division, Directorate for Environment and Forestry 
• Iain Wallace, Deputy Director and Portfolio Lead for Operational Delivery, Marine Directorate
• Paula Spiers, Deputy Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland
• Erica Clarkson, Islands Policy Unit and Islands Lead
• Brian Grogans, Head of Rural Policy Unit
• Kate Anderson, Rural Policy Unit and Rural Delivery Plan Lead 
• Donald Inch, Rural Policy Unit 
• Mari-Anne Valli, Rural Policy Unit
• Jonathan Inglis, Transport Scotland Strategy & Analysis
• Alice Storrie, Private Secretary, Minister for Climate action 
• Donne Joyce, Deputy Private Secretary, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands 
• Rachel Palmer, Deputy Private Secretary, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands 
• Lauren Jefferies, Deputy Private Secretary, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic
• Robbie Baillie, Deputy Private Secretary, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy and Gaelic 
• Grant Moncur, Private Secretary, Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills
• Megan Taylor-Smith, Assistant Private Secretary, Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture 
• Samantha Burns, Deputy Private Secretary, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care
• Ellie Fairgrieve, Private Secretary, Minister for Public Finance
• Ellie Munro, Private Secretary/Deputy Private Secretary, Minister for Agriculture and Connectivity
• Michael Sinclair, Private Secretary, Minister for Children, Young People and the Promise
• Emily Hornsey,  Assistant Private Secretary, Minister for Housing

Apologies

• Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Transport
• Shona Robison, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government
• Shirley-Anne Somerville, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
• Richard Lochhead, Minister for Business

Items and actions

Introductory Remarks  

Ms Forbes welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Ms Forbes gave a brief update on actions from the previous Ministerial Working Group (Paper 2), with no comments. She mentioned that the changed scope of the Rural Delivery Plan (RDP) had been communicated to the Ministerial Working Group members on 6th September. 

Draft RDP content

Ministers were content, subject to consideration of the following points:

• Further consideration of structure should be undertaken, to ensure that key portfolios are represented appropriately.
• Aspects of rurality as they relate to wider portfolios, and cross-cutting topics (in particular, the just transition to net zero), should be woven throughout the draft.
• Where universal investments are included within the RDP, these must be clarified, and their particular interest to rural communities made clear.
• Ensure sufficient emphasis on ways of working to achieve outcomes, across portfolios and engaging communities.
• Embed and reflect the voice of those living in Scotland’s rural areas.

Ms Forbes noted the overarching invitation for ministerial colleagues to provide any further feedback on Paper 3 to officials via email.

Action Point

• Members to provide any additional comment by correspondence to the Rural Policy Unit on Paper 3 by 25th October 2024.

Issues with consultation fatigue amongst rural stakeholders were noted, and the implications for communication of the RDP once it is published were raised. Ministers proposed further engagement between officials and existing sectoral engagement plans.

Ms Forbes noted the overarching invitation for ministerial colleagues to provide any further feedback on Paper 4 to officials via email.

Action point

• Officials will continue to engage with policy leads, existing engagement plans and participation teams to identify appropriate stakeholder engagement events.
• Members to provide any additional comment by correspondence to the Rural Policy Unit on Paper 4 by 25th October 2024
• Members to share policy development and action taking place in their portfolios on the Just Transition with the Rural Policy Unit by 25th October 2024.

Rural Lens Toolkit

Members were updated on the progress of the Rural Lens Toolkit. The following points were raised for consideration:

• The interaction between the Rural Lens Toolkit and Island Community Impact Assessments (ICIAs) or similar tools 
• The critical nature of communication for the success of the Rural Lens Toolkit (and more widely, the Rural Delivery Plan), in particular the choice and clarity of the language used. 

Next Steps

Ms Forbes noted that an updated Rural Delivery Plan with proposed Key Performance Indicators would be available for discussion at the next meeting. The launch of the Rural Lens Toolkit should also be discussed and approved in the next meeting. 

Next meeting 

The date for the next meeting of the Ministerial Working Group will be confirmed.