18 Nov 2025
18 November 2025 – UK Parliament – House of Lords
This House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee report draws on evidence submitted by the Rural Services Network. Kerry Booth is quoted highlighting the importance of partnerships in rural areas, where councils increasingly rely on town and parish councils and community organisations to help deliver services. The report reflects RSN evidence on transport, housing and connectivity challenges in rural communities.
Read the report: Social Mobility: Local Roots, Lasting Change
6 November 2025 – The MJ (print and online)
Coverage in The MJ reported concerns raised by the Rural Services Network that the Government’s Pride in Place programme risks overlooking rural deprivation. RSN warned that the Index of Multiple Deprivation does not fully capture dispersed rural need, higher living costs or lower benefit take-up, and called for future funding models to combine national data with local intelligence.
Find out more about The MJ here.
3 November 2025 – Community Action South Warwickshire
Community Action South Warwickshire launched a new report examining rural poverty at a local level, reinforcing wider evidence highlighted by the Rural Services Network on hidden deprivation, access to services and cost-of-living pressures in rural communities.
