§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has to revise the definition of rural areas following the introduction of new local authority boundaries in April. [10590]
§ Mr. KynochThe Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department is planning to commission research which will review the existing definitions of rurality and develop an appropriate formula in the light of that research and taking account of forthcoming changes to the structure of local government in Scotland.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how he intends to ensure that all agencies with an interest in rural affairs work to a common set of definitions. [10591]
§ Mr. KynochThe Scottish Rural White Paper "Rural Scotland: People, Prosperity and Partnership", which was published on 15 December 1995, sets out the Government's policies for rural communities in Scotland and proposes measures to put these into practice.
The White Paper proposes a Scottish rural partnership system, based on local rural partnerships, supported by a Scottish national rural partnership and resourced through a Scottish Partnership Fund. The national rural partnership will provide a forum at national level for a range of agencies and organisations concerned with rural Scotland to formulate and implement their policies in an integrated manner and to work towards the achievement of the objectives laid out in the Scottish Rural White Paper.
§ Mr. KirkwoodTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list the rural local authorities, according to the Scottish "Economic Bulletin" Randall definition, updated to take account of data for the 1991 census of population. [10589]
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§ Mr. KynochThe Scottish "Economic Bulletin" Randall definition defines rural as those local authority districts which have a population density of fewer than 100 persons per square kilometre.
The information set out in the following list details the local authority districts classed as rural under this definition, taking account of data from the 1991 census of population.
- Angus
- Annan
- Argyll and Bute
- Badenoch
- Banff and Buchan
- Berwick
- Caithness
- Clydesdale
- Cumnock and Doon
- Ettrick
- Gordon
- Inverness
- Kincardine
- Kyle and Carrick
- Lochaber
- Moray
- North-East Fife
- Nairn
- Nithsdale
- Orkney
- Perth and Kinross
- Ross and Cromarty
- Roxburgh
- Shetland
- Skye and Lochalsh
- Stewarty
- Stirling
- Sutherland
- Tweeddale
- Western Isles
- Wigtown