Environment, Food and Rural Affairs CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Introduction

On 1st April 2011, the Rural Communities Policy Unit (RCPU), a centre of rural expertise, was created in Defra. The RCPU is the lead rural policy function within Government. It is designed to engage more effectively, and at an earlier stage, in the development of policy across Government. The RCPU sits within the Rural Development, Sustainable Communities & Crops Directorate within Defra. The aims of this directorate contribute toward:

Building a thriving rural England with strong and cohesive communities that contribute to economic growth.

Protecting and enhancing the value of our unique landscape, supporting communities and encouraging individuals to enjoy the outdoors and reconnect with nature, to improve health, well-being, the local economy and promoting sustainable development.

Delivering a strong and coherent approach to implementing CAP reform.

The RCPU’s role includes, among others, the following functions—Rural Proofing Government policies, enabling rural economic growth, broadband and mobile phone infrastructure delivery, stakeholder Engagement and building the Rural Evidence Base.

In September, the Secretary of State launched the Government’s Rural Statement. This statement underlines our commitment to Rural England. It reflects our vision for successful rural businesses and thriving rural communities. The Statement paves the way for a refreshed and reinvigorated approach to rural proofing of Government policy. Supported by the RCPU, policy makers will explore the evidence of rural need and circumstance; consider the options for fair rural outcomes; and, where appropriate, adjust their policies or delivery to achieve these outcomes.

Take for example, broadband. effective, reliable and fast communications are vital for economic prosperity and the social sustainability of rural England. This is why we have made rural broadband a top priority for Government in order to stimulate economic growth. Government is looking at ways of improving broadband and mobile services, including speeding up of deployment of broadband infrastructure.

This is a Government, from the Prime Minister, down that has strong rural credentials. We have clear and bold ambitions for our rural areas. Defra Ministers are bringing forward new, more effective approaches to ensuring rural needs and opportunities are properly understood before decisions are made.

This EFRA Select Committee Inquiry in to Rural Communities is a welcome examination of this Government’s efforts to ensure better outcomes on behalf of rural communities and business. It is an important opportunity to demonstrate both our commitment and our actions to support the interests of those living and working in rural areas.

1.0 THE APPROACH OF THE Rural Communities Policy Unit (RCPU)

1.1 How effective has the RCPU been in engaging with rural communities?

1.1.1 The RCPU has made engaging directly with key representatives of rural communities and businesses a key priority. The RCPU maintains structured engagement with the following:

1.1.3 The Rural Community Action Network (RCAN): Defra provides funding for a network of 38 rural community development organisations (collectively known Rural Community Councils) across England. RCAN is facilitated at a national level by Action for Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and the network supports community-led action in rural areas and works to increase the long-term sustainability of rural community life.

1.1.4 ACRE provide Defra with a responsive two-way relationship on a number of key themes outlined in the Rural Statement. This provides Defra with insights from front line community engagement on live government policy issues.

1.1.5 The Rural and Farming Network: This network of 17 local groups from across England has been established to identify and feedback local issues and concerns direct and unfiltered to Defra Ministers. Each group is self-organising and self-supporting, bringing together people from rural communities and rural businesses (including the food and farming industries). See Annex 1

1.1.6 The Rural Coalition: The RCPU regularly meets the Rural Coalition to ensure they are given the opportunity to input early into key Government policy areas, for example, on housing, planning and economic growth. Chaired by Lord Robin Teverson, the Rural Coalition comprises 15 member organisations1 who subscribe to a vision for a living and working countryside (as set out in their The Rural Challenge: Achieving Sustainable Rural Communities for the 21st Century report).

1.1.7 Local Economic Partnerships (LEPs): Defra facilitates a regular Roundtable for LEPs to discuss, among other policy issues, the rural economy. It provides an open and frank forum for exchange of views and experience amongst the LEPs and with policy makers.

1.1.8 The Rural Services Network: A working arrangement with this membership organisation devoted to safeguarding and improving services in rural communities across England enables the RCPU to disseminate information and call for evidence about rural impacts and solutions.

1.1.9 The Leader2 Exchange Group: Representatives from Local Action Groups (LAGs) and Accountable Bodies across the country have recently been invited to join this new national group. The main responsibilities of the group will be to:

Provide a structured environment for LAGs, Accountable Bodies, Defra and other appropriate Government Departments to share ideas, experience and views on the Leader approach;

Support Leader delivery until the end of the current Rural Development Programme for England in December 2013, sharing information on programme performance, management and delivery issues;

Support the development of the Leader approach in the future Rural Development programme in England; and

Support and promote better communication between Defra, the RDPE Network, LAGs/Accountable Bodies and the wider Leader community.

1.1.10 In March 2012, the RCPU invited a wide range of stakeholders to a workshop on the RCPU’s work and research programme. Stakeholders were invited to take part in a horizon scanning exercise to identify gaps in the RCPU’s evidence plan and suggest how these should be addressed. The organisations were also asked how they wanted to be involved in Defra’s rural research and evidence work in the future.

1.1.11 The RCPU has already appointed a number of external members to the steering groups overseeing current research projects and will be considering additional mechanisms to ensure ongoing independent input to Defra’s rural evidence base. The RCPU will keep the data it provides under review, responding to changing need and seeking to ensure that statistical evidence produced by other organisations provides an urban/rural analysis where appropriate.

1.2 Has the RCPU done enough to ensure the voices of the hardest to reach can be heard?

1.2.1 The RCPU has achieved some notable successes in ensuring vulnerable rural communities are taken into account in policy development:

Key Examples

£530 million rural broadband programme—The Government is investing in a £530 million rural broadband programme to support the rollout of broadband into the “final third”. The aim is to enable at least 90% of households and businesses in every area of the UK to have access to a superfast broadband service by 2015, with the remainder having access to a minimum of at least two megabits per second by this date. Local Authority Local Broadband Plans set out how this target is to be achieved in individual areas. It is therefore forecast that around 10% of premises (predominantly in rural areas) will still be unable to access superfast internet services for the foreseeable future. The Broadband Delivery Framework has now been signed by BT and Fujitsu and local authority projects teams across the country are working with BDUK to prepare for procurement. BDUK is in intensive dialogue with the Commission over the State Aid approval, and hopes that it will agree final aspects in September/October. The first of the projects in North Yorkshire is expected to begin delivery in October with other projects following in a timetabled pipeline.

In addition, Defra’s RCPU has worked across Government to develop a new package of broadband measures to help facilitate rollout, as announced by the Culture Secretary on 7 September. This includes proposals to relax restrictions in the planning system which would allow overhead lines and street cabinets to be installed without the need for planning or other permission, except in Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). Providers will be encouraged to engage with the local community on the siting of overhead lines, and Defra will support the development of good practice guidelines. Defra will coordinate communication with National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty to discuss specific issues around the Government’s approach to deployment of improved broadband and mobile services and infrastructure

Rural Community Broadband Fund—Community broadband projects will be important in the very hard to reach areas of the country where a minimum standard broadband of 2Mbps is proposed. To complement the Government’s mainstream rural broadband programme, Defra has established the £20 million Rural Community Broadband Fund (RCBF), jointly financed by BDUK and Defra and operated through the Rural Development Programme for England.

The Fund is specifically designed to extend superfast broadband into the final 10% hard to reach rural communities that will otherwise only receive standard broadband under the BDUK rural broadband programme (to ensure that they are not disadvantaged). Under the Fund, in recognition of the importance of some of the remotest communities in uplands areas, upland projects are given additional weighting during application appraisal and are treated as a priority. Under Round One of the RCBF, three uplands projects were endorsed with conditions (total grant request = £486,000. Of the 46 Expressions of Interest received in response to the second round, nine Expression of interest bids are located in upland areas, with a total grant request of £4.3 Million. The outcome of the round two appraisal process is expected to be known in late September.

Mobile Infrastructure Project—Government is also investing £150 Million to improve mobile coverage for consumers and businesses in areas where coverage is poor or non-existent. The Mobile Infrastructure Project (MIP) aims to address voice “not spots” and support mobile broadband roll-out across the UK. It will improve voice and data coverage, and could yield important benefits in rural areas across the UK where commercial providers are reluctant to invest. The MIP is being delivered by Broadband Delivery UK, and it is expected that it will:

Provide coverage for up to 60,000 premises across the UK in complete not-spots; and

Address total not-spots along an initial 10 key road routes which suffer coverage problems.

Rural Fuel and Energy: Rural fuel poverty is often a diffuse and dispersed problem within rural areas. Working with ACRE, the RCPU has set up a fuel and energy group of eight rural community councils with a particular focus on tackling fuel poverty. This group provides regular feedback on rural fuel and energy issues affecting rural communities, through formal meetings and ad hoc requests for advice. These frontline practitioners have become specialised in understanding and addressing rural fuel poverty in some of the hardest to reach rural communities.

The RCPU sits on DECC’s review of fuel poverty group which is following up Professor Hills’ review of the fuel poverty definition. We continue to work closely with DECC on its energy efficiency schemes to ensure that needs of rural communities are recognised and taken into account in DECC policies. For instance, the RCPU produced a cost of fuel paper in March3 which sets out what the Government has done on transport fuel and household fuel, and aim to produce a Rural Fuel Charter later in the year, in conjunction with DECC. This will set out, for the first time, advice for households living in rural areas on improving home energy efficiency and reducing energy costs.

1.3 How effective has the RCPU been in engaging with other government departments, for example, providing challenge and ensuring policy is “rural proofed”

1.3.1 Rural proofing requires policy-makers to consider the rural impacts of their policies and programmes and, where necessary, to make adjustments in order to achieve equally effective and successful outcomes for individuals, communities and businesses in rural areas.

1.3.2 The RCPU supports rural proofing by providing advice, guidance and support to policy officials across Government, including through published rural proofing guidance materials. A new package4 of support will offer policy makers practical and robust examples of good practice (this will be launched in autumn).

1.3.3 The results of the Local Rural Proofing project5 (published in July) undertaken with partner organisations involved in local level delivery, such as the Local Government Association, National Association of Local Councils, Action for Communities in Rural England, Rural Services Network, County Councils Network, Commission for Rural Communities and the Community Transport Association. The RCPU is also currently working on a revised Rural Proofing for Health Toolkit6 alongside the Department for Health.

Effective Examples of Rural Proofing

Department of Communities and Local Government: The Business Rates Retention Technical Consultation, published in June 2012, includes proposals that recognise the added cost of public service delivery in rural areas. These proposals were informed by evidence provided by RCPU through engagement with stakeholders and presented at the Local Government Resource Review Baseline working group. The circumstances of rural Local Authorities are recognised in the consultation, with higher baseline settlements proposed for them than for urban Authorities. Rural impacts were considered at an early stage of the policy cycle, allowing the focus during consultation to be on whether the adjustments were adequate.

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) will help the creation of jobs and prosperity, by taking a positive approach to sustainable new development. To promote a stronger rural economy, local and neighbourhood plans should:

Support the sustainable growth and expansion of all types of business and enterprise in rural areas both through the conversion of existing buildings and well designed new buildings;

Promote the development and diversification of agricultural and other land based rural business;

Support sustainable rural tourism and leisure developments that benefit businesses in rural areas, communities and visitors, and which respect the character of the countryside. This should include the provision and expansion of tourism and visitor facilities in appropriate locations where identified needs are not met by existing facilities in rural service centres; and

Promote the retention and development of local services and community facilities in villages such as local shops meeting places sports venues cultural building public houses and place of worship.

An additional element to housing policies which we know is of importance to rural housing schemes is the option for allowing some market housing on rural exception sites where it would lead to additional affordable housing.

Open Public Services (OPS)—A rural proofing case study was included within the OPS White Paper and subsequently a rural proofing workshop was held with OPS Implementation Plan lead officers. As a result Cabinet Office and Defra’s RCPU developed a cross cutting fair access objective, which included meeting the needs of rural communities in service delivery.

Department of Health: The Government’s Health’s Care and Support White Paper incorporates policy proposals that address rural delivery issues.

The RCPU and DH’s Mental Health team have worked together with key stakeholders to gather evidence of rural and urban mental health issues This has helped, DH to tailor their mental health implementation plans more effectively at local level.

The RCPU and DH’s Suicide Prevention Strategy Team explored the sectoral, rural and urban patterns of employment where suicide is known to occur. This has helped DH to tailor and deliver their implementation strategy, taking into account sectoral and geographical dimensions.

Department for Energy and Climate Change: The design of the Energy Company Obligation, ensured that the Carbon Saving Community element delivered energy saving measures to the most deprived households in rural areas. This goes beyond just utilising the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), which can overlook the smaller pockets of deprivation, to take into account individual households. All low income rural households are now eligible for the CSCo strand of the fund rather than only those in deprived areas. This will see energy suppliers delivering energy saving measures to the most deprived households in rural communities and not just those in areas of concentrated deprivation.

Department for Transport: The Community Transport Association (CTA) produce an annual State Of The Sector Community Transport Report on behalf of DfT, and are currently working with the RCPU to produce, for the first time, a report with a strong rural focus. This will provide a greater understanding of the nature and extent of the rural Community Transport sector, and the role rural Community Transport can play as part of local integrated transport systems and potentially plugging transport gaps within rural communities. This Report will be launched on 13th September.

Wheels 2 Work scheme: The Wheels to Work scheme is designed to address the problem experienced by many, particularly young, people in obtaining work or taking up training opportunities where longer distances and public transport options are not readily available, such as in rural areas. These schemes generally involve the loan of a means of transport, such as a moped for a fixed period of time (normally around six months). This allows participants to take up jobs that they would not otherwise be able to access affordably. The scheme helps many younger people to move from unemployment to employment and eventually purchase their own means of transport after the loan period is ended. Many schemes require the participants to save during the loan period to ensure that they can do this. Defra’s RCPU and the Department of Transport have worked together to identify the positive impacts of the W2W. Consequently, the Government has funded a national Wheels to Work coordinator during 2011–12 and will continue to do so during 2012–13. This post will enable good practice and lessons to be shared amongst existing schemes and to promote them amongst Local Transport Authorities

1.4 Should rural proofing be subject to external review? How might this work?

1.4.1 Defra Ministers believe that the effectiveness of rural proofing should be independently reviewed. The Rural Statement includes a commitment to commission an external review. Defra Ministers have invited Lord Cameron to undertake this review and are currently discussing terms of reference with him. In addition, guidance materials issued to Government Departments requires that they report on their rural proofing activities in their annual report and accounts.

1.5 The RCPU is the Government’s “centre for rural expertise”. Is it sufficiently resourced to carry out this function?

1.5.1 Defra ministers are committed to championing rural issues across government. RCPU is appropriately resourced and can deploy staff resources flexibly to respond to current and emerging priorities. While the RCPU takes the lead within Defra and across government to ensure that the rural dimension is considered at an early stage and is built into government interventions, Defra devotes very significant further staff and financial resources beyond the RCPU to policies of key importance to rural areas, including the uplands, food, farming and forestry, National Parks, landscape, access and conservation, waterways, and the Rural Development Programme for England. The RCPU works closely with all of these.

1.6 Is the RCPU transparent and open?

1.6.1 As a Government Department, Defra is committed to openness and transparency. Defra works within the guidance and spirit of the Civil Service Reform plan.7

1.6.2 We will pursue this through the work of the Rural Communities Policy Unit (RCPU) and the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) as well as by ensuring that housing, planning, transport and infrastructure policies are both sustainable and informed by the needs of rural communities. The stated objective of the Rural Communities Policy Unit is

Building a thriving rural England with strong and cohesive communities that contribute to economic growth.

1.6.3 The recent Rural Economy Growth Review demonstrated the value openness and collaborative policy-making. Defra officials, under the direction of Defra Ministers, led a rurally-focused strand of the cross-Government Growth Review process co-ordinated by Her Majesty’s Treasury and the Department of Business, Innovation and Science. The resources of the Rural Communities Policy Unit were mobilised at short notice and, working with a number of other Government Departments, Defra was able to design and deliver measures8 that had cross Government support and ensured that the wider Growth Review took appropriate account of the needs of rural businesses and the opportunities for sustainable economic growth in rural areas.

1.6.4 Defra is very conscious that its evidence base is an essential source of information for many rural stakeholders and institutions and provides data transparently.

1.6.5 Evidence is central to how Defra conducts its work, and the department’s Evidence Investment Strategy (EIS) vision is to ensure that decisions are based on sound science and evidence. In this spirit, the current contracts for independent monitoring and evaluation of the Rural Growth Networks and the Rural Communities Broadband Fund will be used to inform future policy and delivery.

1.6.6 The RCPU also produces high level statistics which present an overall picture for England. All of the RCPU’s statistical reports are available on the Defra website.

The Following Reports are Currently Available on the Defra Website

The Statistical Digest of Rural England is a collection of statistics on a range of social and economic subject areas. The statistics are split by rural and urban areas, allowing for comparisons between the different rural and urban area classifications. The Digest includes high level statistics which present an overall picture for England. The statistics within the Digest are updated throughout the year.

The Statistical Digest of the English Uplands contains a range of statistics about the English Uplands. The subject areas include the social, economic and environmental perspective of upland areas with a view to enhance our understanding of the English Uplands. In many cases, the statistics are presented for upland areas and the rest of England, to allow comparisons to be made.

The Quarterly Rural Economic Bulletin contains key statistics relating to the economy in rural and urban areas. The indicators used have been selected because they present a “real-time” picture of the rural economy, and are currently updated quarterly.

Statistical Feature Reports are currently produced quarterly and summarise key statistics on a particular area of interest relating to rural areas. Recent reports have covered skills, tourism and the economic activity of older people.

The RCPU is in the process of updating the rural services series, which provides information about how many households in rural and urban areas are more than a set distance by road from a number of services (post offices, petrol stations, supermarkets, convenience stores, cash points, banks, pharmacies, libraries, NHS dentists, pubs and restaurants, and jobcentres. Updating this series now will mean there is no discontinuity in the series, which the CRC had been publishing for a number of years.

Local Level Resource: Following feedback from users, the RCPU has also reviewed how it makes available local level information. We have developed a set of resources to help people access and understand the data. This include a user-friendly collection of statistics for rural and urban areas at local authority level, socio-economic reports displaying charts and tables of statistics for rural and urban areas at Local Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership level and signposts to other sources of local level statistics. We are also working in Partnership with stakeholder groups to ensure that users get the most value from the statistics we produce.

1.7 How should the effectiveness of the RCPU be measured?

1.7.1 As noted in 1.4.1, Defra Ministers are exploring the scope for external review with Lord Cameron. However, and in addition, the high level business plan priorities outlined in Defra’s Department Business Plan provides regular reporting on all departmental business plan commitments.

1.8 Is there still a role for an independent Rural Advocate?

1.8.1 The Government believes that it is no longer appropriate or necessary for a publically-funded non-departmental public body to fulfil an advocacy function. The Government also believes that it is right to invite contributions from a wide variety of rural advocacy rather than rely on one single voice acting as an intermediary on behalf of rural communities and businesses. Rural England is diverse with many distinctive characteristics and policy interests—the Government believes these interests are best served by encouraging direct engagement with those who represent the differing ambitions and aspirations for a thriving and sustainable rural England.

1.8.2 There are many rural organisations and commentators who advocate strongly on behalf of rural people and publically hold Government to account for the impact of its policies on rural areas. We have every expectation that this healthy dialogue will continue and will be encouraged by Defra Ministers. For example, Defra Ministers are undertaking a series of rural roadshow events in different parts of the country. These provide opportunities to highlight our ambitions and policy priorities for rural England and to enter into two-way engagement with key representatives of rural communities and businesses.

2.0 Rural Grants and Funding

2.1.1 How effective will the measures announced in the Rural Economy Growth Review (REGR) be in stimulating sustainable growth in the rural economy?

2.1.2 The measures announced under the REGR constituted a strong package, worth £165 million, designed to stimulate sustainable growth in the rural economy and help rural businesses to reach their full potential. We are working closely with the Department of Business, Skills and Innovation to establish longer term monitoring and evaluation plans and activities to keep track of the impact, delivery and value for money of these interventions.

2.1.3 Defra’s RCPU will keep track of this implementation of the growth review.

2.1.4 The overarching objective of the measures set out in the REGR is to deliver sustainable growth. Each measure has been carefully designed to tackle a distinct barrier or an opportunity that was identified by stakeholders in the course of the review. These include:

poor connectivity, and

lack of access to suitable premises or workforce, and/or to exploit the natural advantages that rural areas have for the purposes of sustainable growth in sectors such as tourism, renewables and agri-food.

2.1.5 We have made substantial progress on implementing these measures, including:

Creating five Rural Growth Networks—in Swindon and Wiltshire, Durham and Northumberland, Devon and Somerset, Cumbria, and Coventry and Warwickshire—to help businesses in rural areas to reach their potential by breaking down barriers to economic growth such as a shortage of work premises, slow internet connection and fragmented business networks. More than 3,000 jobs and 700 businesses are expected to be created;

Rural Community Broadband Fund –The joint Rural Development Programme for England and Broadband Delivery UK £20 million Fund was launched in November 2011 to help communities have superfast broadband in areas otherwise outside the DCMS rollout (the last 10%). RCBF provides communities with up to 50% of the cost of developing and implementing a local broadband project. Round One resulted in 16 projects, worth £5 million, being developed, and a second round closed in July 2012 with 46 expressions of interest, the results of which are to be announced in late September. We anticipate a third round will be announced in the next few months.

Launching the £20 million Farm and Forestry Improvement Scheme, this uses Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) funding to provide small grants of between £2,500 up to £25,000 to farm, forestry and horticulture businesses.

The scheme aims to help make eligible businesses more profitable and resilient whilst reducing the impact of farming on the environment; it supports businesses to improve their competitiveness by using resources more efficiently, or improving animal health and welfare.

It has an intervention rate of 40% but there is an enhanced offer (under most of the scheme’s measures) for upland farms in Severely Disadvantaged Areas where the intervention rate is 50%.

Round One opened for business on 16 November 2011. Up to £20 million will be available to December 2013 under this scheme. Round One closed on the 17 January and c£9 million of the available funding was allocated in Round One.

Round two closed on the 17th July.

Launching the £60 million RDPE-funded Rural Economy Grant Scheme which is providing larger grants of between £25,000 and around £1 million (no set upper cap) with a maximum intervention rate of 40%) to enable a “game changing” transformation of Farm, Agri-Food, Tourism and Forestry businesses and micro-enterprises in other high growth sectors located in the Rural Growth Networks. For the Tourism specific Theme of the fund the grant scheme is focussed on. The programme is about investing in a variety of rural tourism transformational projects which contribute to 5% year on year growth in the value of tourism through better collaboration and co-ordination to enhance the visitor experience in destinations. In summary:

The REG is for businesses seeking to significantly improve performance through, for example, job creation, increased turnover and access to new markets; launched at end of February 2012. Outline applications closed 30 April.

Ministers announced on 11 July a new REG scheme specifically for the dairy sector—this will be available in Autumn 2012.

The Rural Economy Grant has received an unprecedented response, over 1,100 applications with a value of £224 million. The budget is £60 million. Following the completion of project appraisals in July, the National Approval Panel met on the 6th August select selected 450 which projects to proceed to the full applications stage.

Over the next six months applicants will be developing detailed business plan submissions. These submissions will demonstrate clear economic growth outcomes for the industry and its supply chains. The grant scheme remains competitive at Full application stage, and value for money and leverage of investment will be key criteria considered in project selection.

Launching the first phase of the £12 million that will be invested in promoting tourism to the benefit of rural areas—through the Holidays at Home are Great campaign and the Regional Growth Fund Project “Growing Tourism Locally”. Both initiatives are aimed at attracting more people to rural areas and encouraging them to stay longer when they visit. In addition there is:

A £10 million Fund as a key element of the £60 million new Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Rural Economy Grant scheme (noted above) is providing funding for the development and improvement of tourism destinations, facilities and products.

A Defra-led initiative to work with the 34 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) in England aimed at developing a new approach to support sustainable rural tourism in these iconic rural landscapes.

A RDPE-supported “Paths for Communities” Fund delivered through Natural England, which would enable rural communities to enhance economic development by improving public rights of way.

The investment by Defra of up to £1 million of RDPE funding, with significant investment from the private sector, for a new sustainable rural tourism initiative in North East England, based on the Our Land approach being used across protected landscapes in the South East. The project will help tourism businesses offer activities and accommodation which celebrate and connect the visitor with local Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks.

Inviting training providers to deliver the £20 million Skills and Knowledge Transfer programme, a flexible and locally targetable skills training programme to enable rural business growth, due to be launched in autumn 2012. £12 million of this will be available under the framework with the remaining £8 million being already assigned to contracts that are continuing in the south west and north west. The Framework has been progressing through Official Journal of the European Union procurement and we have now appointed 32 organisations across the country. There is a range of organisations and consortiums that will be able to deliver across the whole of England. Mini-competition specifications are being issued from 22 August through to mid October allowing Framework organisations to competitively bid to deliver training activity.

Publishing a food and drink export action plan, and hosting an Agri-Food summit to raise awareness of the potential for growth in this key rural sector.

2.2 What other measures might the Government have used?

2.2.1 A wide range of possible measures were considered during the review and we had extensive engagement with stakeholders from business and other sectors throughout the process. However many of the most significant issues affecting rural businesses, such as access to finance, the effectiveness of training, the cost and supply of housing, and the availability of expert business advice, similarly affect businesses in urban areas, and are being addressed at a national level.

2.2.2 The Review looked at specific barriers to sustainable growth that rural areas face, such as poor electronic communications; a lack of premises for businesses to start up, expand or diversify; lack of access to business strategy advice or mentoring; and limited access to a local workforce with the right skills. Many of these are now being addressed through the measures outlined above. The Review also considered the comparative advantages of rural areas, such as space for businesses to develop and expand sustainably and plentiful supplies of natural resources on which key rural industries such as agri-food, tourism and renewable energy, depend.

2.3 How will uncertainty over the content and timetable for the reform of Pillar II of CAP impact on the Rural Economy?

2.3.1 The current Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) has provided significant investment (£2.8 Billion over seven years) into the rural economy, and will continue to do so until the end of 2015.

2.3.2 The overall budget for Pillar 2 of the Common Agricultural Policy beyond 2015 and its allocation to member states have yet to be agreed. Negotiations on the new Rural Development Regulation are continuing.

2.3.3 Despite these uncertainties, Defra has begun work on the next Rural Development Programme, so that we are able to minimise delay and manage the uncertainty inherent in the negotiating process. We will be having open discussions with rural organisations during the autumn and aim to consult on this in Spring 2013. As part of preparing for that we will be developing an initial Impact Assessment.

2.3.4 Defra is also working with other Government departments to develop a Partnership Agreement to better integrate the range of European funds and deliver shared outcomes for the next programming period 2014–20. This could lead to rural interests being addressed across other programme objectives, addressing priorities such as broadband provision, skills and training, business support, as well as wider quality of life issues such as fair access to services, tackling poverty and social disadvantage.

3.0 Government Policy

3.1 The Government is preparing a rural policy statement. What should be in it?

3.1.1 The rural statement was published in September.9 The Statement focuses on national Government action, but we recognise the crucial role of Local Government in delivering the services that rural people depend upon, and the scope for communities to take local action to meet their own needs and concerns.

3.1.2 The Statement is intended to underline our commitment to Rural England. It reflects our vision for successful rural businesses and thriving rural communities, and is based around three key priorities:

Economic Growth—we want rural businesses to make a sustainable contribution to national growth;

Rural Engagement—we want to engage directly with rural communities so that they can see that Government is on their side; and

Quality of Life—we want rural people to have fair access to public services and to be actively engaged in shaping the places in which they live

3.2 Ministers’ stated rural priorities are housing, broadband, services, transport and fuel. Are these the correct priorities for the Government to focus on?

3.2.1 Ministers believe these are the right priorities. They reflect what we know to be the priority issues for rural communities and businesses. For example, the Rural Insights Survey10 which surveyed over 2,500 residents aged 16+ across rural and urban areas (excluding London) found that:

Public transport remains top quality of life priority—Over a quarter of rural-based residents (28%) mention this as a priority. Public transport is also singled out by rural respondents as the “absolute” priority for improvement.

Housing, job prospects and state of economy feature strongly—Affordable decent housing (11%) and job prospects (8%) were ranked as “absolute” priorities for improvement in the future. The state of the economy was considered a specifically rural priority for action by decision-makers in Parliament by 15% of people in rural areas.

Why is Housing a Ministerial priority for Defra?

3.2.3 Rural areas are some of the least affordable places to live, and we need to ensure that our rural towns and villages have the freedom to determine the scale and type of development that they want and need. Defra will be working with DCLG to ensure that rural people and communities benefit from the Government’s new approaches to housing and planning as set out in the Housing Strategy published in November 2011 and the NPPF published in March 2012. The NPPF supports rural housing through the inclusion of a rural exceptions policy which allows for an element of market housing to be included on rural exception sites where this facilitates the development of affordable rural housing. (See also 1.3.3 above)

3.2.4 Providing affordable housing is vital to enable people to stay in their communities. The Affordable Homes Programme 2011–15 (AHP) aims to increase the supply of new affordable homes in England and almost 10% of allocations outside London for the Programme are for homes in communities with under 3,000 people.

3.2.5 To ensure that we are sharing experiences and good practice about how to deliver more affordable homes in rural areas, Defra jointly funded the Rural Affordable Housing Project.11 The dedicated website is designed to share information, allow housing practitioners to network and hold virtual meetings with stakeholders to encourage and enable development of rural affordable housing.

Why is Broadband and Mobile Infrastructure a Ministerial priority for Defra?

3.2.6 A modern communications infrastructure is fundamental to the day to day functioning of UK society and is essential to underpinning the future growth and sustainable development of rural communities. Broadband and mobile phone availability in rural areas is therefore a top priority for Defra and a vital part of the Government’s overall growth agenda. As well as being a key driver to growth in rural areas, access to effective broadband also has the potential to make services more accessible to rural communities.

3.2.7 However, 23% of rural households have no or slow (less than 2Mbps) broadband, compared with 8% in England overall (this proportion rises to just under half of households in sparse hamlets/isolated dwellings). In England, 2G mobile phone (voice) population coverage is reported at 99%.

3.2.8 The Government recognises that the market is not going to deliver superfast broadband to everyone, particularly those in more remote rural communities, without Government support and encouragement. It has, therefore, introduced three significant and complementary investment programmes geared to improving rural access to broadband and mobile telephone phone coverage: the £530 million rural broadband programme, £20 million Rural Communities Broadband Fund and £150 million Mobile Infrastructure Project.

Why are Rural Services a Ministerial priority for Defra?

3.2.9 The challenges of providing services to people living in rural areas have some elements in common with people in urban areas. However, there are different ways in which rural service provision need to be considered. The lack of economies of scale and weaker demand (although this should not be misunderstood as lack of demand) makes mainstream service provision more problematic to deliver in rural areas. Particularly the smaller more sparse rural areas.

3.2.10 The RCPU has undertaken research to highlight how innovative approaches to service delivery can help to overcome service delivery challenges in rural areas and maintain service standards and equity.12 Recent RCPU participation in the Post Office Advisory Group served to highlight rural impacts of the new Post Office Local delivery model. Corresponding work with Consumer Focus including departmental analysis by postcode of Consumer Focus’s research data sets helped support the rural proofing of the Postal service research. RCPU support for the DH Mental Health Strategy Implementation team promoted a greater understanding of the needs of rural stakeholders. As a result the Mental Health Strategy outreach was extended to Parish and Town Councils as part of their awareness raising for mental health services.

Why is Transport a Ministerial priority for Defra?

3.2.11 Rural transport plays an important part in rural development; connecting rural economies with markets and customers, and linking up rural communities with education, training and employment opportunities, health and welfare facilities and key services. Rural transport can contribute not only to rural economic growth but also to a higher degree of social wellbeing and sustainability within rural communities. It is also a high priority for rural communities (see 3.2.1 above).

3.2.12 Local authorities provide financial support for local bus services that would not otherwise be run by mainstream bus operators. Local Authorities, in response to existing funding constraints have begun to reconfigure bus services. Recent changes to funding structures (Bus Service Operators Grant) have highlighted concerns about the potential impact upon rural areas. In rural areas the impact of a small public transport change can be very significant. The RCPUs work with DfT has meant that a staged approach to the changes to the BSOG, exploring how the early changes are affecting rural transport provision, has been undertaken. These findings will be publicised in the forthcoming CTA report (see 3.2.20 below)

3.2.13 Community transport is also a key priority for rural areas. Community transport is safe, accessible, cost-effective, flexible transport run by the community for the community. As we move into an era of new community rights, community transport shows what can be done when people take responsibility for solving their own problems. It mobilises and engages local communities, and harnesses the experience and energy of volunteers who give freely of their time to help others.

3.2.14 Community transport is about freedom and fairness of opportunity. It meets the needs of people who do not have access to cars, taxis or buses and provides a lifeline in both rural and urban areas. It takes disabled people to work, children to school, sick people to healthcare and older people to the shops. It runs local bus routes and provides transport for a wide range of clubs, voluntary bodies and care homes.

3.2.15 Defra, working with DfT and the Community Transport Association, has been developing a new report to build a-more detailed picture of the size and scope of the community transport sector. This report, published 13 September focuses in particular on community transport in rural areas. We recognised that there were specific issues facing community transport providers in rural areas which differ from those in urban areas and we have sought, through this report, to understand the nature of these issues and how we can support the sector in addressing them.

Why is Fuel and Energy a Ministerial priority for Defra?

3.2.16 We know that rural households are more likely to be in fuel poverty (across England in 2010, 16.4% of all households were in fuel poverty. 20.2% of rural households were in fuel poverty, compared to 15.5% of urban households). Moreover, the most remote households suffer the largest levels of fuel poverty. Households off the gas grid—who are forced to pay more to heat their homes—suffer particularly from high levels of fuel poverty. We are also aware that rural households have not benefitted from DECC’s energy efficiency schemes, which is why we are working with DECC to ensure the design of the Green Deal and ECO meets the specific needs of rural people. Three main factors contribute to whether a household is “fuel poor”—the household income, the energy efficiency of the property and the cost of energy. National interventions, delivered locally, have focused strongly on measures to combat lack of energy efficiency.

3.3 Do the measures announced in Defra’s Uplands review do enough to support sustainable hill farming?

3.3.1 There is good evidence that the measures are successful, but we need to ensure that we continue to provide support, as circumstances change.

3.3.2 The Uplands Entry Level Stewardship is the main mechanism for supporting sustainable farming in the uplands. The scheme aims to maintain and improve the biodiversity, natural resources, landscape, and historical value of England’s uplands, and to contribute to climate change mitigation and adaptation by supporting land management practices which deliver these benefits.

3.3.3 As one of the outcomes of the Defra Uplands Policy Review, Ministers gave a guarantee that 100% of hill farmers eligible to enter Uplands Entry Level Stewardship (UELS) would be able to do so. There is evidence that this has been successful. Since its introduction in 2010, uptake has exceeded expectations with more than 5,770 Uplands ELS agreements covering 862,616ha (66.8%) of the Severely Disadvantaged Area (SDA) (as at end-June 2012). Together with the remaining 250,506 ha of SDA land still in “classic” (Environmentally Sensitive Areas and Countryside Stewardship) scheme agreements, this means that approximately 86% of the SDA is now under agri-environment scheme management. An Uplands Transitional Payment is available to farmers who are currently unable to enter Uplands ELS due to continuing commitments in the predecessor schemes.

3.3.4 A recent farmer attitude survey by the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) of the University of Gloucestershire and a team from the Royal Agricultural College concluded that Uplands ELS had been well-received, was easy to join and implement, payment rates were thought to be sufficient, and the scheme is well managed. Some smallholders felt that Uplands ELS was not for them or were unaware that they were eligible. We are addressing how to encourage these people to apply by offering better support and advice to prospective applicants and to encourage peer advice. We are continuing to keep the scheme under review to ensure that it remains accessible and delivers the environmental benefits being sought. The future of support for upland farmers is also being considered as part of the ongoing CAP reform negotiations and design of the new Rural Development Programme.

3.3.5 But as circumstances change, we need to ensure that support for the uplands remains adequate. Important developments at the moment are CAP reform and the linked review of the Less Favoured Areas (LFA) designation. The review published its proposals for new Areas facing Natural Constraints (ANC) as part of its CAP reform proposals in October 2011. As well as a new suite of bio-physical criteria (criteria based on geology, climate and agronomy, rather than socio-economic factors, to ensure that support goes to areas where farming is harder and less productive) for designating ANC, it proposed a top-up measure in Pillar 1 and a new ANC measure in Pillar 2 (replacing the current LFA measure).

3.3.6 In the negotiations and the work to design a future rural development programme under pillar 2 and effective greening of pillar 1 of the CAP, we aim to ensure that support for sustainable farming in the uplands remains adequate.

Annex 1

RURAL AND FARMING NETWORK: MEETINGS TO DATE AND TOPICS RAISED WITH MINISTERS.

1. Inaugural Meeting of Rural and Farming Network Chairs

All RFN groups were represented by either their Chair or a key deputy. Both Minister Paice and Minster Benyon attended and senior members of Defra were also in attendance.

The discussions focused on:-

RFN Chairs and Ministers agreed a shared purpose and terms of reference for the RFN

Water resources including:

Private Water Suppliers.

Water supply issues longer term.

Water shortages—a national strategy.

Abstraction Licences

Tourism and water use.

Universal Water Metering.

Water transfer.

Water utility companies working with planners.

Rural Development Programme for England—including:

Experience from RDPE 2007–13.

Local influence and LEADER.

Skills and training.

A second meeting between all 17 RFN Chairs and Minister Paice and Benyon is planned to take place in the Autumn of 2012.

2. Meetings between the Defra Ministerial team and Rural and Farming Network Groups

6th February: Minister Richard Benyon met with the Chairs and key representatives of the North Eastern Farming and Rural Advisory Network, and Farming Food and Rural Affairs Tees Valley RFN Groups:

Policy issues discussed:

Broadband.

Rural Growth Networks.

Food and tourism.

Low Skills and training.

6th February: Secretary Of State met with the Yorkshire Food Farming And Rural Network. This was a formal meeting scheduled during a Rural Roadshow.

Policy issues discussed included:

RDPE funding.

Anaerobic Digestion.

Bovine TB.

Schmallenberg virus.

21st February: Minister Jim Paice met with the Worcestershire Rural Hubs Ltd; Derbyshire Partnership Economic Forum; Rural Network East Midlands; Rural Hubs Partnership RFN Groups.

Policy issues discussed:

Networking and Communication.

Skills and Training.

Broadband and Mobile.

Neighbourhood Planning.

27th February: Minister Richard Benyon met with the South West Rural and Farming Network; And the Rural Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Partnership

Policy issues discussed:

Land and Landscape.

Affordable Rural Housing.

RDPE funding.

England Biodiversity Strategy—Local Delivery.

Environmental Land Management in the South West.

Disease: Schmallenberg,(Also possibility of questions around TB).

27th April: Minister Jim Paice met with the Chair of the South West Rural and Farming Network

Policy issues discussed:

Fuel Prices.

Enforcing Bovine Tb rules.

Sustaining new entrants into farming and agriculture.

Higher Level Stewardship Agreements (HLSAs).

Future of Pillar II.

Farming and Forestry Sector Improvement Scheme.

Planning and Localism.

Local input into the future design of RDPE.

10th May: Lord Taylor met with the Chair of the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture. This was a formal meeting as part of a Rural Roadshow.

Policy issues discussed:

RFNs links and relationships with the Local Enterprise Partnership and local authorities.

Water resources, drought and flooding.

7th June: A meeting between Minister Richard Benyon and the Chairs and key representatives of the Farming and Rural Issues Group and the Wessex Rural and Farming Network. This formal meeting was held at the South of England Show.

Policy issues included:

Agricultural and Horticultural R & D.

Rural broadband.

Rural business and economy– support to SMEs.

Lord Taylor met the Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly RFN on 15 June 2012

They discussed the following:

EU structural funds and the new RDPE programme post 2013.

Supply chains including transport infrastructure.

Project to build an abattoir on the islands.

Other RDPE Key Topics for information: LEADER.

Minister Jim Paice met with the Kent Rural Network and the Farming and Rural Issues Group South East. This formal meeting was held at the Fruit Focus Show on 25th July

Policy issues included:

Water.

Investment in land based industry and business.

Abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board.

Next generation Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme.

Minister Jim Paice met with the Cheshire, South & West Lancashire, Merseyside & Manchester Land Use Farming & Rural Group on Tuesday 21st August in Cumbria

Policy issues included:

Land & water management issues (effects on food production).

TB Issues.

New entrants into farming.

Minister Jim Paice met with the Cumbria & North Lancashire Farming, Food and Rural Group on Tuesday 21st August in Cumbria

Policy issues included:

Water Management, including Independent Drainage Board, and River Maintenance.

Dairy price dispute.

Farming & Forestry Improvement Scheme Grant.

Minister Jim Paice met with the North East Farming & Rural Advisory Network, and Food Farming & Rural Affairs Tees Valley on Tuesday 21st August in Northumberland

Policy issues included:

New entrants into farming & Skills.

Rural Broadband.

Community Collaboration with Voluntary Community. and

Social Enterprise Sectors (NEFRAN) Real Food Festivals.

Impact of Weather on Rural Businesses.

3. RFN have been involved in Defra Ministerial attendance at the 2012 County Shows

I. May: Secretary of State met briefly with the South West Rural and Farming Network as part of attendance at the Somerset and Devon Show

II. June: Secretary of State attended East of England Rural and Farming Network at the Suffolk County show

III. June: Minister Richard Benyon met briefly with the Worcestershire Rural Hubs Partnership, and the Rural Hubs Partnership at the Three Counties Show.

IV. July: Minister Paice met the Yorkshire RFN at the Great Yorkshire Show.

October 2012