Senior executives from England's newly formed Commission for Rural Communities visited Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) this week to share ideas on best practice.

Deputy chief executive of CRC Margaret Clark and Crispin Moor, one of the CRC's directors, met HIE chief executive Sandy Cumming and members of HIE's strengthening communities department.

The CRC has developed from the former Countryside Agency and is charged with acting as advocate on behalf of rural communities and businesses in rural England, providing independent advice to government and others and ensuring that policies and delivery reflect the needs of people living and working in rural England.

Sandy Cumming said: "HIE is playing an integral part in the pioneering progress being made in community assets, land ownership and management in the Highlands and Islands.We were pleased to share our experiences with the CRC and discussed their own strategy as they take on their responsibilities for rural policy in England."

Margaret Clark said:  "We value the opportunity to learn about how HIE is addressing the needs of rural communities in their area.  Although the rural areas of England and the Highlands and Islands differ in many ways, we share many common interests.  Part of our job is draw lessons from the good practice and experience of others. HIE have a long and distinguished history of tackling rural isolation and we look forward to hearing more about their work."