NOK 2.68 billion to rural and regional policy

The Government proposes to grant about NOK 2.68 billion to rural and regional policy in 2012. Under the red-green government, about NOK 18 billion has been granted to rural and regional development.

In the light of the budget situation, grants to the specific rural and regional policy instruments under the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development have been reduced by about NOK 92 million from 2011. Leaving aside compensation for increased employers' national insurance contributions, grants to rural and regional policy are NOK 718 million higher in 2012 than they were in 2005. That is a nominal growth of 53.6 per cent.

"This shows that we are keeping up efforts to develop jobs and attractive local communities throughout the country," says Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Liv Signe Navarsete.

The Government wishes, through rural and regional policy, to make use of the whole country's resources and contribute to value creation, jobs and welfare where people live.

The county authorities administer around NOK 2.2 billion, or approximately 80 per cent, of the special funding for rural and regional policy. That includes funds to compensate for increased employers' national insurance contributions.

Reports from the county authorities for 2010 show that the county authorities distributed 56 per cent of the funds to business development, 20.5 per cent to creating good local and regional expertise and infrastructure and 16.5 per cent for developing attractive local communities.

"The county authorities do an important job in helping to achieve the national goals for rural and regional policy," says Navarsete.


Measures in the national budget for 2012:

Business development and entrepreneurship

• Municipal and regional business development fund: The Government proposes that the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development continues the major initiatives of the municipal and regional business development fund with a grant of NOK 225 million in 2012. The business development fund is intended to make local authorities and regions better equipped to facilitate value creation and employment.

 

• The Business Garden programme: The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway (SIVA) has started a new Business Garden programme in autumn 2011. The Government proposes that the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development gives NOK 40 million to the programme in 2012, an increase over 2011 and a doubling since 2010. The programme is intended to contribute towards developing new jobs in knowledge-based industries in rural areas.

 

• Focus on entrepreneurship among young people in rural areas: The Government proposes to increase support to Young Entrepreneurship through the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development's budget by NOK 2 million to NOK 13 million. The Government also proposes to increase the extraordinary initiative for entrepreneurship among young people in North Norway, which goes through Innovation Norway, by NOK 1 million to NOK 5 million.

 

• Value creation programme for local and regional parks: The Government proposes to grant NOK 10 million to a new scheme for increasing business development and value creation in specific areas with potential. Areas that could receive support must have a common affinity for those who live and have activities in the area. Values shall be developed by making use of natural and cultural values as resources in a sustainable manner.
  

Attractive local communities and good services

• Strengthening the MERKUR programme and development and investment support to local shops: NOK 47.2 million has been allocated for these measures in 2012. This is an increase of as much as NOK 21.2 million, which will be used, among other things, to extend the scheme by improving access to fuel in rural areas. Some of the funding will also be used to develop new concepts for how local grocery shops can strengthen their position as central service providers, for example as social arenas for local residents. In this way, the Ministry wishes to 

o modernise and strengthen local shops as important service providers in rural areas.
o improve access to fuel in rural areas.
o improve existing facilities linked to local shops.

 

• Bulyst: The Government proposes to grant NOK 42 million to the Bulyst subsidy scheme. The programme is intended to support local and regional development projects that promote a desire to live in rural areas throughout the country, as well as acquiring new knowledge about how this can be done. NOK 10 million of the funding is reserved for projects that have received support in 2011, so as to ensure that the work has a long-term perspective.

 

• New subsidies for establishing homes in rural areas: The Government proposes to grant NOK 20 million to subsidies to stimulate the creation of more homes of various kinds in municipalities with small and uncertain housing markets and/or a lack of homes. One of the aims is to make it easier to recruit a workforce. The aim is to help develop attractive local communities. The subsidy is a scheme for selected municipalities.

 

• Local community development in the municipalities (LUK): The Government proposes to grant NOK 30 million to this initiative in 2012. The county authorities are responsible for initiating this measure, which is intended to develop the work of the local authorities in planning, mobilising, collaborating and developing measures to help create more attractive local communities.

Links

• The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development 's budget pages