The view from Stuart Burgess's office is stunning. He has a corner office on the 20th floor of an office block in London that on one side gives you a bird's eye view of the gardens of Buckingham Palace and on the other side a glimpse of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament.
You might think, with an office in such a plum location, he was a hot-shot city lawyer or international banker. In fact, he is the rural advocate and chairman of the newly-created Commission for Rural Communities. The London base is to allow him to represent the interests of rural communities within each of the government departments.
What is a little surprising, given his job title, is the fact that he grew up in central Birmingham. His countryside credentials, he tells me, come from marrying into a farming family and working for many years as a church leader in rural North Yorkshire.
So what does his job involve? Does he really have any influence? And how often does he get to talk to someone like the Prime Minster? FW decided to find out more.
What is the role of rural advocate?
My role links in with being the chair of the Commission for Rural Communities which gives independent advice to government and ensures that government policies reflect the real needs of people living and working in rural England.
The way I go about the role is to go out to local areas and drill down into the issues facing rural people. I then take back the main messages to the government and every year I produce a report for the Prime Minister and report to him direct.
Is it easy get face-to-face meetings with ministers?
Very easy and DEFRA secretary David Miliband is very keen for that to happen. He has told me that if the access isn't there, then he will facilitate it. Recently, I have had a meeting with social exclusion minister Hilary Armstrong and another with Stephen Timms, chief secretary to the Treasury. Yesterday, I was with Ruth Kelly of the Department for Communities and Local Government and in a couple of weeks' time I'm meeting Gordon Brown.
Access to the Prime Minister is limited, because you don't get personal access to the Prime Minister. But I see him from time to time more informally and there is also a rural policy person within Number 10 who is another contact.
So how much influence do you have?
We are a new organisation but I'm determined we make a really good go of it. It's not going to be easy because any government is going to be urban-based rather than rural-based because politically that is where the votes are and everybody has to realise that. But the government is being far more receptive to listening about rural issues, because it realises that whenever the next election takes place they will need to hold on to some of the urban/rural constituencies of which there are many held by Labour. This is an opportunity for us to make sure that the rural issues are taken on board.
Is DEFRA fit for purpose when it comes to meeting the needs of rural communities or would you like to see it divided?
I would say it is and I'm personally very happy working with DEFRA. But who knows what will happen in six months' time? Whether DEFRA remains responsible for rural affairs or responsibility is moved to another government department is a matter for the Prime Minister to decide. However, there is a case for reviewing the role of the rural affairs minister and developing and strengthening this role. There is also a case for a minister at Cabinet level to stay involved with rural policy.
Which government departments are worst at rural-proofing their policies?
The government is taking seriously rural proofing, but the next question you have to ask is to what degree are they taking it seriously? The Department for Communities and Local Government is doing a lot of good work on rural issues and social exclusion. But what we haven't done yet is have a good relationship with the Department of Health and I am concerned about health issues in rural areas. For example, you can talk about the choice agenda in urban areas, but which hospital do you get to choose if you are in a rural area?
Migrant workers are high on your list of priorities - why is that?
Migrant workers bring big economic benefits to rural England - in some places such as Lincolnshire, where they have 50,000-60,000 migrant workers they keep the rural economy going. A recent study by the East of England Development Agency estimated that the revenue gained from migrant workers in the region is £360m a year. But there are big challenges over language, housing and access to public services. Unlike many urban areas, rural areas have little experience in dealing with such a large influx of people and some are really struggling to cope.
Your role is to champion rural communities, but your personal profile isn't that high? Does that worry you?
Profile is one of those things that could always improve, but I think we've had some pretty good coverage. We have been in a number of national newspapers and magazines and I've also appeared on things like the six o'clock news. Basically, the job is huge, but my aim is to do a rural advocate visit at least once a month, so that means I am getting out to meet local people face to face.
Is farming a priority for you? What do you see as the role for agriculture in rural communities?
Farming is one of the four priority areas that I highlighted to the Prime Minister when I met him in November 2006 and I'm a great believer in rural business. I think agriculture is going to increase in both the country's significance and the government's significance over the next few years. Locally-grown food is going to become more important on people's agenda and I think that is going to become one of the key planks for the future. Climate change is another issue and I think a debate we are going to have is whether farmland is for the production of food or the production of fuel. I think there are some hopeful signs out there.
You talk about the affordable housing problem? But have you got a solution?
There has to be a loosening up of the planning regulations to allow things like farm buildings to be turned into dwellings and some brownfield sites to be used. The challenge is to make affordable housing available not just for the next two or five years, but in perpetuity. One of the problems we have found is that people say they need affordable rural housing for sustainability, but they then they tell you it should be built in a village four miles away, rather than their own. I think nearly every village can cope with a small development of affordable rural housing say, 6-12 properties in every village.
What is your biggest fear for rural communities?
That they will be content to stand still and for nothing to happen, fired by a belief which I think is wrong, that they want to maintain the status quo. I've always believed that for any community to be sustainable it has to have new life. Somehow every rural community has to embrace the change going on around it and respond to it as creatively and positively as possible.
BURGESS IN A MINUTE
When and where were you born?
I was born in Birmingham in 1940.
What makes you laugh?
There are so many things. But I think the best thing is being able to laugh at yourself. Don't take yourself too seriously, but take your work seriously.
What irritates you?
People who do not have respect for others.
What was the last book you read?
I had two on the go. One was PD James' The Lighthouse (a crime novel) and the other Richard Dawkin's The God Delusion (a book which challenges the existence of God, arguing that religion is based on faulty logic and causes suffering).
What's your sport?
I'm passionate about all sports, but tennis is my game. I still like to play.
Where do you live now?
Rural Warwickshire. I married into a farming family which now produces cheese in the Forest of Arden.