Rurality, islandness and public policy in Scotland

Abstract

ABSTRACT Territorial classifications are routinely used in public policy. In Scotland, the primary classification used to delimit what, where and who is ‘rural’ is the Scottish Government’s Urban Rural Classification, introduced in 2003. However, in the recent past, there appears to have been a reframing of ‘rural definitions’ in the Scottish policy context. We highlight some of the challenges associated with developing a more nuanced framing of ‘rural’, drawing upon an analysis of responses to the statutory consultations associated with three recent items of draft legislation: namely, the 2015 consultation on provisions for a future Islands Bill, the 2019 consultation on a proposal for a Remote Rural Communities Bill, and the 2020–2021 consultation to support the preparation of the Fourth National Planning Framework. Implications of these new framings for rural policy, planning and development are discussed. Our conclusion is that, while no territorial classification system is perfect, extending the use of existing tools may offer both robust policy support as well as meaningful insights that differentiate types of ‘rural’ in a way that is a better fit for current purposes.