RAF Future Developments: Proposal

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RAF Future Developments Proposal
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Rural Affairs Forum
Purpose To be the recognised rural customer
voice of the region to influence rural
policy-making and delivery.

• Terms of Reference
• To bring together regularly a wide and
  representative range of rural people, communities
  and businesses.
• To develop a productive dialogue with Forum
  members and their wider background
  constituencies.
• To represent the regions rural interests to the
  Rural Board and Rural Practitioners Group.
• To contribute to the development and monitoring
  of YHRF.
• To contribute to the rural proofing of regional
  and national policies by promoting a
  consideration of rural needs and interests at the
  design stage of policies and strategies, and
  feeding back on performance during the delivery
  stage.
• To contribute to the development of an
  evidence-based understanding of the key issues
  facing the region and rural England more widely,
  eg by contributing to CRC studies and responding
  to national consultations.
• To establish linkages with sub-regional rural
  partnerships.

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Governance of Rural Affairs in Yorkshire The
Humber
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10 Rural Priorities and their links to the Rural
Strategy 2004
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• How the regional framework and what role and
  inter-relationships could be agreed.
• To ensure that the document and the Rural Affairs
  Forum was an effective body.
• The degree of financial and administrative
  support.
• Part of any future review of the RAF, that the
  selection and accountability of the Chairman
  himself also be included.

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Governance of Rural Affairs in Yorkshire The
Humber
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• Wider non aligned third party support.
• More clarity in provision of a cash budget.
• More delegated authority to the Steering Group to
  determine its priorities for expenditure.
• Working within accepted governance linkages when
  spending public money.

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• To find a host organisation prepared to provide
  the necessary administrative support for the RAF
  as a functioning body and its Chairman.
• The host to have the capacity to keep in
  continuous contact on rural matters and
  administer cash appropriately.
• To get a defined financial contribution from key
  groups such as the RDA, RGO and Natural England
  and perhaps the CRC.
• To strengthen the Steering Group, not beyond an
  effective working size but to include persons
  without a direct financial alignment who provide
  an expertise and commitment on key subjects and
  issues.

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• We are a major rural land owner and have played
  an important leadership role in access amenity
  recreation and conservation matters. Significant
  SSIs.
• We are active in the community generally
  supporting health of children with our Cool
  Schools programme and massive volunteering
  programme for the Right to Read.
• We are the leading environmental company in
  Yorkshire as all our activities have a broad
  environmental consequence, whether it be run off
  from moors to rivers or improvement in river and
  bathing quality and compliance with fresh water
  directives etc.
• Fourthly, what is not generally known is that
  Kelda already operates a similar body called the
  Environmental Advisory Panel which is hosted by
  Kelda and Chaired independently.

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Membership of Environmental Panel
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• It would be a further contribution to what is
  termed our Corporate Social Responsibility. As a
  major plc we look for areas where we can not only
  support but add contributions which are
  universal within Yorkshire, Rural is universal
  whereas urban is particular.
• Two years is proposed as it gives continuity to
  the incoming Chairman but provides an opportunity
  to the Forum to review matters and make future
  changes if they wish.
• If it was agreed that Kelda were to be involved
  they would be prepared to make a longer term
  commitment at the option of any incoming Chairman
  and Steering Group of the RAF.