The one million people living in Scotland's rural areas are not being heard as national policy-making is dominated by the urban agenda.

That is one of the main conclusions of a study published yesterday by the Scottish Consumer Council (SCC). It wants rural communities to be given a louder voice and Scottish Government policies to be properly "rural-proofed".

The Rural Advocacy study commissioned by the SCC found that, although 98% of its land is classed as rural, Scotland is one of the few countries in Europe that does not have an established network of rural organisations and this is undermining the capacity of local communities to influence government decisions.

The SCC is recommending that the Scottish Government should provide development funding for a grassroots-based representative network of rural community groups.

It said: "There is a need to strengthen and revitalise community councils across rural Scotland to make sure they have the capacity to consult and represent communities effectively.

"The Scottish Government should develop the role of community councils in consulting rural communities."

Such a move would require funding.

Reliance on primary industries, such as agriculture; low wages, peripherality; transport; housing; depopulation; and loss of services are among the most pressing rural issues highlighted but the study found that the voice of communities in the Highlands and Islands was stronger than that of other rural communities.

The statutory social and community development role played by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and its predecessor, the Highlands and Islands Development Board, is seen as one of the main reasons for that difference.

It has meant support for measures and projects to increase community confidence and self-reliance, from acquiring local land and assets to exploiting their natural and cultural heritage.

But Scottish Enterprise has a different remit, so the report recommends that rural communities in lowland Scotland should have access to community development funding and support available in the Highlands and Islands. The role of Communities Scotland in providing community development support outside the Highlands and Islands should also be reviewed, it says.

Douglas Sinclair, the present SCC chairman, said that it was time for people in rural areas to have a strong voice in policy again.

He added: "Almost one million people live in rural Scotland, and 280,000 of them live in remote rural Scotland.

"Since the demise of the Rural Forum in 1999, there hasn't been a unified body continually reminding government of its obligation to ensure every plan is rural-proofed' - tested against the needs of non-urban communities where the priorities are different from towns and cities."

The report received a warm ministerial welcome. Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said: "We cannot have a strong and vibrant Scotland without a strong and vibrant rural sector. We will be looking carefully at this report's recommendations - many echo work we have already begun, particularly on issues concerning community empowerment.

"We are already considering how best to strengthen rural communities so they can take full advantage of the opportunities which will open up under the Scotland Rural Development Programme over the next seven years.

"Other recommendations, such as rural-proofing', are issues we want to consider carefully."

The study was overseen by a steering group chaired by the Dumfriesshire-based Dame Barbara Kelly, a former SCC chairwoman and current president of the Southern Upland Partnership.

She said: "We believe communities need to be actively supported to build capacity at local level to help articulate the rural voice to best effect.

"We are confident that supporting communities, to ensure their views come through loud and clear, will ensure that national policy can be enriched by the diverse views of all people living in Scotland."

Talks on establishing organisation for islands

Representatives of the 95 inhabited islands will be joined on Mull on Thursday and Friday by ministers, MPs, MSPs and MEPs, quango leaders and European island representatives.

The meeting comes a year after Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) heralded a new strategy - or "compact" - for Scotland's islands.

The move, launched at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands, was publicly endorsed by the then First Minister, Jack McConnell.

The islands strategy is still being developed but a briefing paper has been submitted to the Scottish Government.

William Roe, HIE's chairman who launched the idea, is among the keynote speakers at the Mull gathering as is Jim Mather, enterprise minister and SNP MSP for Argyll and Bute The conference is being organised by the Scottish Islands Federation whose chairman, Ian Gillies from Tiree, said last night: "With his economic remit, and close interest in the future prosperity and wellbeing of islands, the Scottish Islands Federation is extremely pleased to have secured a keynote speaker of the calibre of Jim Mather MSP."

Mr Roe is expected during his keynote speech to underline HIE's historically strong commitment to islands.