APPENDIX 3: STATEMENT FROM SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE DISTRIBUTED AT WORKSHOPS
Statement from the Scottish Executive about this research
This research is funded by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department ( SEERAD)
In rural areas, innovative methods of service delivery are often required because of low population numbers and sparsity of population. One innovative method of service delivery in rural areas is co-location of services, that is, for services to be located in the same place and to share building space. Little is known, however, about the costs and benefits of co-locating services relative to other models of service delivery. This research aims to fill that gap.
A potential advantage of co-location is that cost savings may arise through shared building space. Another potential advantage of co-location is that rural communities benefit from having better access to services. The size of these cost savings and benefits depends on a range of factors including availability of building space and current access to local services. This research will estimate the relative size of costs and benefits associated with co-location of services.
SEERAD is the end user for the research. SEERAD is committed to ensuring that people living in rural Scotland have access to high quality services essential to their life and work. Since the research is being conducted in three rural communities which differ according to population size and remoteness, it is hoped that the research will be able to draw conclusions about the circumstances in which co-location of services can work best. If co-location does work then SEERAD can promote it as an effective means of service delivery, should provision of individual services in rural services come under review.