The Rural Services Network has highlighted the importance of the Government Releasing Opportunity and Removing Barriers for rural areas in its submission to the Spending Review 2021
This is the process where the Government welcomes responses from interested parties to HM Treasury with the aim of commenting on Government policy and suggesting new policy ideas to be considered in the upcoming Budget or Spending Review.
The RSN response demonstrates the case for support and investment into the rural areas of England to release opportunity, strengthen the UKs economic recovery from COVID-19 and level up economic opportunity across England.
At the heart of our submission is the case for improving outcomes in public services in rural areas which are, and have been for decades, woefully under-resourced by central Government in comparison to urban areas of the country. Good quality, accessible and affordable public services are a cornerstone of economic (and social) opportunity, recovery, growth and sustainability. Without them the potential benefits from major infrastructure investments will simply not be realised – rural areas will fall further and further behind and levelling-up will have failed.
The RSN recognises the financial challenges facing the Government and stress that we are, in the main seeking a fairer distribution of national resources to rural areas and more nuanced policy to reflect the rural context – not huge amounts of more money per se.
The submission sets out the RSN asks of Government as follows:
- Support for rural public services
- Seize the opportunities from rural economies
- Remove connectivity barriers
- Support rural affordable housing
- Harness opportunities from energy infrastructure and renewables