Date: 24th January 2022
Subject: Rural Economy
Chair: Graham Biggs MBE, Chief Executive, Rural Services Network
Hosted: Online Event via Zoom
– To download the agenda and papers associated for this meeting, click here
– To download a copy of these learning outcomes click here
– To view the attendance and apologies lists click here
Speakers
Speaker 1: Sarah Welfare, Head of Policy and Research, Reed in Partnership
Speaker 2: Brian Wilson, Chair of Directors, Rural England CIC
Speaker 3: Kerry Booth, Deputy Chief Executive, Rural Services Network
Learning Outcomes
Key issues highlighted by speakers
Sarah Welfare, Head of Policy and Research, Reed in Partnership
Working with Local Authorities to Support Rural Employment
Download the presentation here
Download a list of main DWP employment contracts and providers January 2022
Working with Local Authorities to Support Rural Employment
- Reed in Partnership work with local authorities to support their residents into employment, but also offer services in health, rehabilitation, youth services, and business support.
- Transport is found to be a barrier to accessing jobs or applying for jobs for people in rural areas.
- Rural bus timetables do not match current working hours.
- Childcare drop off and pick up to and from work is more difficult in the rural setting.
- Employment services changed over pandemic, there was more remote support, but finding the right balance is essential to meet the needs of those requiring help.
- There is the question of how to assist people back into employment who are not in employment but are not claiming support. Self-referral schemes can help.
- Post pandemic support for those searching for work is available. (Kickstart)
- Jobcentre Plus offices have become more about community support and provision. See more at this link: Jobcentre Plus – working together with employers
- There is a Restart scheme to support the long term unemployed, and the eligibility criteria is now wider – list of Restart providers by area
- JETS service by Reed helps health and wellbeing.
- There is a question whether support in accessing co-worker spaces would assist worker wellbeing.
- Reports on how Reed in Partnership better support residents of rural areas, can be found on their website on this page: Supporting jobseekers in rural areas | Reed in Partnership
- Coastal and small rural towns in a sparse setting were found to have greater employment service needs.
- Reed in Partnership joined the Rural Services Partnership in 2021 and it has been beneficial in understanding rural intelligence and bringing together organisations serving similar areas.
Brian Wilson, Chair of Directors, Rural England CIC
State of Rural Services Report 2021
Download the presentation here
- The State of Rural Services Report 2021 was launched (virtually) on the 12th January 2022. There was one presentation to Parliamentarians, followed by a General Launch.
- Published by Rural England, an independent research, networking and information exchange Community Interest Company, set up to inform the policy agenda.
- The report focusses on the impact of the pandemic and was based on evidence from various sources including analysis of national data sets and 2 surveys. One survey of rural residents in conjunction with the CCRI, the other being a survey of market towns through the RSN Rural Market Town Group.
- Poverty statistics are tending to become worse over time (for example through the increased use of food banks), whereas claimant count is rebounding to pre pandemic levels.
- The pandemic has created a range of winners and losers through the situation. Online retail and services have done well. Entertainment, cultural and social venues have fared poorly.
- Local rural food shops were highly valued during the pandemic and lockdown periods.
- Supermarkets were used less, but it was noted that they benefited from selling a range of goods for which shops that only sold those products were prohibited to open during lockdown.
- Innovation for food shops involved rapid development of online orders and deliveries, as well as tailored services for those who were shielding.
- There was a mixed picture for market towns success during the pandemic. There were not a significant number of shop closures, and some towns had increased footfall. Some towns however saw reduced footfall, with the difference possibly coming from those towns able to benefit from tourism and day trippers.
- The pandemic brought about 9 years of growth in online shopping in a single year, when compared to the rates of increase in online shopping seen previously.
- Pub closures were a significant issue during the pandemic, this is despite survey results showing 25% of those surveyed considering the pub necessary or vital during the pandemic. This was a reflection on the multi-faceted benefit that pubs can deliver socially and through additional services.
- Bus services have seen a slow partial return to normal passenger numbers. Car use dipped but has recovered. Walking and cycling increased during the early days of the pandemic but have since returned to pre-pandemic levels.
- There is continuing caution among past users of bus services which will naturally impact the return to pre-pandemic levels of service use.
- Overall rural communities have shown themselves to be quite resilient through the pandemic, but the picture is varied.
Kerry Booth, Deputy Chief Executive, Rural Services Network
Government Levelling Up Funds and the Application Process for Rural Areas
Download the presentation here
- The Government has not been precise about what the Levelling Up policy is and how to measure it. This is possibly to allow Government to exercise judgement on where funding is going for political reasons.
- Rural and coastal areas are both specifically mentioned in Conservative Manifesto in relation to Levelling Up. We know that rural areas have higher costs in delivering many services, currently lower government funding, and it costs more to meet their needs.
- There are a number of funds under the banner of Levelling Up for example the Towns Fund, the Community Renewal Fund, and the Levelling Up fund.
- The metrics that will be used to measure the success of levelling up have not been defined.
- Towns Fund prioritised towns greater than 15,000 residents, which excludes many rural towns despite them serving a wide hinterland. Although it was pointed out that ministerial judgement was used in some circumstances to select towns below this threshold.
- The Rural Services Network (RSN) compiled feedback from members who had applied to a Levelling Up fund, suggestions received for an improved application process were:
- Clear feedback as to the specific areas on which an application is unsuccessful.
- Simplify the application process to allow a level playing field between small and large authorities. There are capacity issues in many rural authorities.
- Realistic delivery timescales.
- Transparency at the beginning of the process regarding which areas would be favoured.
- The RSN represents our members interests on DEFRA’s Rural Impact Forum. The RSN will feed on any of our members feedback and experiences from the bidding processes to date to influence future processes.
Procuring the services of consultants to assist with the bidding process has both advantages and disadvantages. There are costs associated to procuring services (must be competitive). There are costs associated with managing any consultant. Any authority using the services of a consultant must be mindful of potential reputational damage where consultants over promise to secure a successful bid with deliverables that the authority cannot fulfil. Where bids provide funding for consultants to add to authority capacity, the added costs both financial and reputational need to be considered.
RSN’s Revitalising Rural Campaign Specific Policy Asks of the Government is for fairer distribution of national resources to rural areas and more nuanced national policies. There are 14 Chapters in the campaign; one of them looks specifically at Rural Economies and is available at this link.
Who are the Rural Services Network? Video on YouTube
Analysis and Commentary pieces for Rural Services Network by Jessica Sellick, Researcher at Rose Regeneration, investigates “Levelling up to create living working rural economies?”
Economy Insights, produced by the RSN, provides important markers as to the state of the economy for our member authorities. It explores a wide range of subjects, setting out data and statistics at Local Authority level allowing comparisons to be made with other rural areas. Please click here to access Economy Insights.
If you are interested in our other future events, please visit the following link to view our 2022 events calendar and book your place:
https://www.rsnonline.org.uk/future-meetings-and-events
- The Rural Youth Project – survey work with young people (Scotland):
https://www.ruralyouthproject.com/ - Babergh and Mid Suffolk District Council developed their own virtual high street to support their market towns and help get their local retailers get online during the pandemic:
https://virtualhighstreet.uk/ - Derbyshire Dales District Council have introduced an online service for small shops to join.
- There is some support available through https://www.businessgrowthhub.com/digital-boost for 1 to 1 mentoring
- Allerdale Borough Council shared the following website:
https://visitallerdale.co.uk/shop-local-allerdale/ - You might be interested in the research paper on the topic of “Coworking in the country: sign of a healthy rural economy?”:
https://digit-research.org/blog_article/coworking-in-the-country-sign-of-a-healthy-rural-economy/ - You might also be interested in our Economy Insights on Average Hours Worked & Earnings – an analysis covering the period 2011 to 2021, which provides comparison with averages for local authorities of same class and rural classification, as well as the situation for England overall:
https://rsnonline.org.uk/average-hours-worked-earnings - Town Deals: full list of 101 offers:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/town-deals-full-list-of-101-offers/town-deals-full-list-of-101-offers - The MAGIC website provides geographic information about the natural environment from across government:
https://magic.defra.gov.uk/
Attendance and Apologies:
Attendance:
|
Full Name |
Organisation |
|
Alice Walpole |
Cornwall Council |
|
Amy Beckett |
Stroud District Council |
|
Amy Cobbett |
NFU |
|
Anna Garner |
Bath & North East Somerset Council |
|
Antony Baden |
Rother District Council |
|
Becca Snow |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Ben Colson |
Bus Users UK |
|
Brian Wilson |
Rural England CIC |
|
Charlie Thornton |
Eden District Council |
|
Chris Clark |
Royal College of General Practitioners |
|
Cllr Adam Paynter |
Cornwall Council |
|
Cllr Carl Les |
North Yorkshire County Council |
|
Cllr Chloe Turner |
Stroud District Council |
|
Cllr Christine Bayliss |
Rother District Council |
|
Cllr Duncan Enright |
Oxfordshire County Council |
|
Cllr Frances Beatty |
Stafford Borough Council |
|
Cllr Garry Purdy |
Derbyshire Dales District Council |
|
Cllr Harry St John |
West Oxfordshire District Council |
|
Cllr Janet Duncton |
West Sussex County Council |
|
Cllr Jeremy Savage |
South Norfolk District Council |
|
Cllr John Redpath |
Guildford Borough Council |
|
Cllr Loretta Whetlor |
Somerset West and Taunton Council |
|
Cllr Marion Fitzgerald |
Allerdale Borough Council |
|
Cllr Peter Crozier |
West Devon Borough Council |
|
Cllr Philip Atkins |
Staffordshire County Council |
|
Cllr Richard Meredith |
East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
|
Cllr Richard Good |
Richmondshire District Council |
|
Cllr Richard Sherras |
Ribble Valley Borough Council |
|
Cllr Roger Phillips |
Herefordshire Council |
|
Cllr Sarah Wakefield |
Somerset West and Taunton Council |
|
Cllr Stephen Clarke |
West Northamptonshire Council |
|
Cllr Stephen Purser |
Teignbridge District Council |
|
Cllr Steve Waight |
West Sussex County Council |
|
Corinne Watson |
Cumbria County Council |
|
Daniel Worth |
Rural Services Network |
|
David Rodda |
Cornwall Council |
|
David Inman |
Rural Services Network |
|
Francesca Castelo |
Guildford Borough Council |
|
Gavin Iredale |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Graham Biggs MBE |
Rural Services Network |
|
Hamish MacLeod |
Mobile UK |
|
Holly Lombardo |
National Rural Touring Forum |
|
Ian Cass |
The Forum of Private Business |
|
Ian Whittle |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Jane Birch |
Community Council Somerset |
|
Janice Rose |
Northumberland County Council |
|
John Longden |
Pub is The Hub |
|
Kate Hampson |
West Sussex County Council |
|
Kerry Booth |
Rural Services Network |
|
Kieran Grainger |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Laura Dixon |
Devon Communities Together |
|
Lizzi Hearn |
CPRE, the countryside charity |
|
Lois Brentnall |
Advance Northumberland |
|
Malcom Rigler |
Nailsea Town Council |
|
Mandy Ramm |
Lincolnshire County Council |
|
Marina Di Salvatore |
West Lindsey District Council |
|
Mark Brownbill |
Devon Communities Together |
|
Matt Jones |
Suffolk County Council |
|
Nadine Trout |
Rural Services Network |
|
Nic Millington |
Rural Media |
|
Nicola Radford |
Lincolnshire County Council |
|
Nigel Burch |
South Holland District Council |
|
Nina Jeffries |
Teignbridge District Council |
|
Cllr Patrick Kimber |
West Devon Borough Council |
|
Professor Gary Bosworth |
Northumbria University |
|
Cllr Richard Keeling |
Teignbridge District Council |
|
Samantha Jones |
Suffolk County Council |
|
Sarah Kidd |
Northumberland County Council |
|
Sarah Welfare |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Toby Matthews |
Norfolk County Council |
|
Tony Brown |
Northumberland County Council |
|
Sarah Cave |
Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils |
|
Steve Dowling |
Association of Convenience Stores |
|
Abi Culley |
Warwickshire County Council |
|
Claire Holt |
Durham County Council |
|
Ian Sherriff |
University of Plymouth |
Apologies:
|
Full Name |
Organisation |
|
Mark Alden |
South Downs National Park Authority |
|
Katherine Armstrong |
Community Council Somerset |
|
Mark Barrow |
Shropshire Council |
|
Mandie Berry |
North Somerset Council |
|
Cllr Owen Bierley |
West Lindsey District Council |
|
Rod Birtles |
Devon Communities Together |
|
John Birtwistle |
First Bus |
|
David Bolton |
Cornwall Rural Housing Association Ltd |
|
Cllr Lizzy Bowen |
West Northamptonshire Council |
|
Cllr Catherine Braun |
Stroud District Council |
|
Cllr Norman Cavill |
Somerset West and Taunton Council |
|
Cllr Dr Ellie Chowns |
Herefordshire Council |
|
Cllr John Clark |
South Somerset District Council |
|
Anne Connor |
Outside the Box |
|
Cllr Sue Cooper |
South Oxfordshire District Council |
|
Louise Cumberland |
Devon Communities Together |
|
George Denton |
South Norfolk and Broadland District Councils |
|
Cllr James Easter |
South Norfolk and Broadland District Councils |
|
Monica Fogarty |
Warwickshire County Council |
|
Clive Gibbon |
Boston Borough Council |
|
Alan Gray |
North Kesteven District Council |
|
Cllr Roger Habgood |
Somerset West and Taunton Council |
|
Nik Harwood |
Young Somerset |
|
Nicola Healy |
Babergh & Mid Suffolk District Councils |
|
Paul Henry |
Suffolk County Council |
|
Cllr Robert Heseltine |
North Yorkshire County Council |
|
Michael Hewitt |
Cherwell District Council |
|
Lauren Hopson-Haw |
Ryedale District Council |
|
Professor Catherine Jackson |
University of Central Lancashire |
|
Dan James |
Exmoor National Park Authority |
|
Louisa Kiddell |
Norfolk County Council |
|
Cllr Phil King |
Harborough District Council |
|
Rita Lawson |
Tees Valley Rural Action |
|
Cllr Carl Les |
North Yorkshire County Council |
|
Cllr Paul Marshall |
West Sussex County Council |
|
Claire Maxim |
The Arthur Rank Centre |
|
Ruth McArthur |
Exmoor National Park Authority |
|
Richard Mckie |
Godolphin Cross Community Association |
|
Guy McQueen |
Lewes District & Eastbourne Borough Councils |
|
Cllr Meredith |
East Riding of Yorkshire Council |
|
Julie Milburn |
Sparsholt College Group |
|
Cllr Cecilia Motley |
Shropshire Council |
|
Cllr Julie Najuk |
Gedling Borough Council |
|
Cllr Roger Paterson |
Rural West Sussex Partnership |
|
Simon Pearson |
Dorset County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust |
|
Kirsty Pitwood |
West Suffolk Council |
|
Cllr Pam Posnett |
Leicestershire County Council |
|
Gary Powell |
Teignbridge District Council |
|
Bobbie Preston |
SP Energy Networks |
|
Anna Price |
Rural Business Group |
|
Kate Pym |
Pym’s Consultancy Ltd |
|
Martin Rich |
Devon Communities Together |
|
Mark Rogers |
Bath & North East Somerset Council |
|
Amerie Rose |
Devon Communities Together |
|
Catherine Sharman |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Penny Sharp |
Rutland County Council |
|
Cllr Lucy Shires |
North Norfolk District Council |
|
Philip Sourbut |
Diocese of Exeter |
|
Katherine Stanley |
West Northamptonshire Council |
|
Tom Stephenson |
North York Moors National Park Authority |
|
Venetia Summers |
The Cornwall College Group |
|
Cllr Virginia Taylor |
Eden District Council |
|
Melanie Thompson-Glen |
Newcastle University/NICRE |
|
Cllr Peter Thornton |
South Lakeland District Council |
|
Cllr John Ward |
Babergh District Council |
|
Anna Warner |
Reed in Partnership |
|
Matthew Warren |
Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service |
|
Elizabeth Warwick |
Wales & West Utilities |
|
Cllr Norman Webster |
Mid Sussex District Council |
|
Cllr Amy Wheelton |
South Derbyshire District Council |
|
Cllr David Williams |
South Staffordshire Council |
