Press Release
25th September 2013
Local conference to promote remote rural Scotland's Minimum Income Standard
A conference will be held on 3 October at Islesburgh Community Centre to present the findings of the research published earlier this summer which shows how much it costs householders in remote rural Scotland to achieve a minimum standard of living. The research has also been able to estimate the minimum living costs for different households in Shetland and this will be discussed at the event, as well as how the information can now be used for maximum benefit.
Alastair Nicolson, Head of Planning and Partnerships at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, which led the group behind the research will be presenting the findings in Shetland. He says: “People choose to live in remote rural locations for many different reasons, in particular a higher quality of life. The benefits of this can sometimes counteract the higher costs but we are keen to see what else we can do to make living in these areas more sustainable and attractive.”
Shetland Islands Council Leader Gary Robinson will be opening the conference: “This is an extremely useful and robust piece of research, providing real evidence to support a number of issues we’re facing in Shetland, such as high fuel bills, travel costs and delivery charges. The Council, with our partners, will be using the research in a number of different areas, including how Shetland is allocated funding.”
SIC’s Policy Manager, Emma Perring, who represented Shetland on the research steering group adds: “The Minimum Income Standard is an excellent tool to be able to understand the costs of achieving a good quality of life. We have been working for a number of years to obtain this information for Shetland and the results provide us with plenty of opportunities to target our work, to be able to assist different households to reduce their costs of living.”
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