Services
01 Jan 2017
Call for action on fuel poverty
FUEL poverty figures have prompted a call for the government to tackle the tariffs of the big six energy companies. Shadow business secretary Clive Lewis said action was needed following...
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23 Dec 2016
‘Sparsity’ funding to protect rural schools
Government plans will see small rural schools protected by a ‘sparsity’ funding factor have been broadly welcomed. Education secretary Justine Greening made the announcement in the House of Commons on...
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19 Dec 2016
One in four rural homes lack broadband
The government’s telecoms watchdog says one in four rural homes still cannot get a decent broadband connection. New research by Ofcom found that the number of UK properties unable to...
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19 Dec 2016
Post Offices ‘must be more accessible’
POST Offices are becoming more important to local communities and should be more accessible, says the Rural Services Network. The RSN made the recommendation in response to a government consultation...
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15 Dec 2016
Rural dismay at funding settlement
The Rural Services Network has slammed the government’s provisional funding settlement for local authorities. Rural communities will be severely disadvantaged by the settlement, which covers proposed local authority funding for...
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15 Dec 2016
UK mobile coverage ‘worse than Albania’
Mobile phone network coverage in the UK is worse than in Romania, Albania and Peru, says a report. Britain is 54th in the world for 4G coverage, and the typical...
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08 Dec 2016
ACRE leads project on rural services
A new project aims to highlight how rural services can be sustained by local residents – and how local people can shape rural policy. The project is being led by...
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04 Dec 2016
Rural communities get fibre broadband
RURAL villages in South Gloucestershire are being given access to fibre broadband following more investment. The fibre to the premises (FTTP) scheme covers villages from Elberton to Littleton-Upon-Severn after South...
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01 Dec 2016
Is Ofcom ruling good for rural broadband?
BT has been ordered to separate from its network provider Openreach – in a move aimed at improving broadband and phone services. The split was ordered by Ofcom, the government’s...
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28 Nov 2016
Police urge rural residents to report crime
POLICE are urging rural residents to ‘Call it in’ and help target crime in the countryside. North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce said local communities were their ‘eyes and ears’– allowing officers...
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