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Last week, The Rt Hon Michael Gove announced an encouraging boost for rural communities: a £15 million increase in the Rural Services Delivery Grant for 2024-25. This raises the total to £110 million, a significant uplift that the Rural Services...
The Rt Hon Michael Gove has today (24th Jan) through written statement announced that he proposes to increase the Rural Services Delivery Grant by £15million for 2024/2025 resulting in a total of £110 Million. The Rural Services...
A recent parliamentary debate has shed light on the stark funding disparities between urban and rural areas, with a particular focus on Cornwall. The debate, which was held on 15th January 2024, brought to the forefront the ongoing challenges that...
The Rural Services Network is the national voice for rural areas, campaigning on our members behalf for a fairer deal for rural communities. The consultation on the way that Government allocates funding for rural councils closed yesterday. However, you...
The Rural Services Network has yesterday submitted its response to the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement consultation. This followed a meeting of local authority Leaders, Senior Councillors and Senior Finance Officers in SPARSE membership of the Rural Services Network, those...
Notes of last SPARSE Rural Special Interest Group meeting on 15 January 2024 - held online via Zoom Please be aware the notes and presentation associated with this session are only available for Sparse-Rural ...
The Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement was released on 18th December setting out the funding for Councils for the financial year 2024 to 2025. The consultation on the settlement runs until 15th January 2025, leaving councils little time to...
It’s time to get organised for 2024 and make some time in your diary to attend one of our rural focused seminars. Almost 550 of you attended an RSN seminar in 2023 so let's make it the place to...
Rural MPs had a clear message for the government during their Westminster Hall debate last week on the funding of rural councils; act now or councils will go bust and lives will be lost. The Rural Services Network provided...
The challenges facing rural areas have been repeatedly debated in Parliament this week. Alongside Chris Loder MP’s debate on funding for rural councils ( read what happened here ), Sarah Dyke MP (Somerton & Frome, Lib Dem) used her first...
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Amid reduced public spending, fair resource allocation across regions is crucial. Despite a population larger than Greater London, rural areas receive significantly less funding for essential services, even though delivering these services in rural areas is more expensive.
Economic growth is widely acknowledged as essential for national wealth and prosperity and is a priority for political parties. Rural economies, employing millions and home to a higher proportion of small businesses, have potential for growth if barriers are removed.
Rural residents face distinct healthcare challenges, including limited access to transport, longer distances to medical facilities, an aging demographic, housing inadequacies, digital connectivity gaps, and difficulties recruiting health and care workers.
Rural communities are grappling with a severe affordable housing crisis, marked by high house prices, a lack of affordable housing, elevated living costs, and lower incomes, threatening their sustainability and vitality.
Transport is vital for the quality of life and economic health of rural areas, yet it faces challenges such as infrequent public bus services and less Government funding compared to urban regions.
Rural areas, encompassing a substantial portion of England's population and land, play a pivotal role in combating climate change and achieving the net zero target.
In an increasingly digital world, the lack of robust digital infrastructure in rural areas severely limits access to crucial services and stifles economic growth.
A future-focused vision for rural communities involves not just building the right homes in the right places but also ensuring thriving, sustainable communities.
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