The Scottish National Rural Partnership's report Services in Rural Scotland (January 2001), which was commissioned by ministers, identifies innovative approaches to providing service in rural areas and offers recommendations on how public, private and voluntary service providers might work with rural communities to help them achieve their service needs. We are already following up on a number of the recommendations, including the setting up of a rural community website, and, with the Enterprise Networks and other partners, exploring the feasibility of establishing pilot Community Malls.With regard to specific incentives, a scheme of rural rate relief is in operation and is to be extended to provide 50% mandatory rate relief to small food shops which satisfy the scheme criteria.