Select Committee on the Rural Economy
Time for a strategy for the rural economy
Report of Session 2017-19 - published 27 April 2019 - HL Paper 330
Contents
Chapter 1: The importance of the rural economy
Box 1: Rural economic potential and the Industrial Strategy
Understanding the rural economy
Box 2: Key aspects of the rural economy in England
Previous scrutiny of the rural economy
Chapter 2: The rural economy and public policy
Box 3: Lord Cameron of Dillington’s 2015 independent review of rural proofing
Box 4: Rural proofing by public bodies
Chapter 3: Rural delivery and place-based approaches
Understanding place-based approaches in the rural economy
Post-Brexit and the replacement of EU funding streams
Box 5: Place-based delivery: LEADER success stories
Place-based delivery of a rural strategy: the role of Local Enterprise Partnerships
Box 6: What are Local Enterprise Partnerships?
Box 7: The Work of the South West Rural Productivity Commission
Box 8: Partnership working: local-level rural strategy
Community participation and capacity building
Box 9: Community ownership: the Meltham Carlile Institute
Box 10: Community Initiatives: examples from ACRE
Chapter 4: Digital connectivity
Opportunities and challenges facing the rural digital economy
Recent policy and funding announcements
Table 1: Premises unable to receive decent broadband from a fixed line
The Universal Service Obligation (USO)
Digital skills and the rural digital economy
Box 13: Local initiatives to improve digital skills
Chapter 5: Housing, planning and rural working spaces
Box 14: What do we mean by ‘affordable housing’?
Box 15: Designated rural areas
Box 16: Cornwall: good practice in affordable housing delivery
Box 17: Neighbourhood Plans and support for the rural economy: Lewes District
Chapter 6: Access to skills and rural business support
Characteristics of rural businesses and challenges
Box 18: Wheels to Work and Training
Box 19: UK Research and Innovation support for apprenticeships
Box 20: Increasing apprenticeships in National Parks
Box 21: Diversification case studies: Bolesworth Estate and Caplor
Case studies for effective business support
Box 22: Rural Creative Industries: Barrington Court, Somerset
Box 23: Rural arts: The Rural Diversity Network
Chapter 7: Delivering essential services at the local level
Box 24: Farm Watch in Lincolnshire
Box 25: Scotland Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC)
Box 26: Forest of Dean Community Hospital
Box 27: The Rural Coffee Caravan
Summary of conclusions and recommendations
Appendix 1: List of Members and declarations of interest
Appendix 4: A short history of rural policy in England
Appendix 5: Further statistics on the rural economy
Appendix 6: Note of Committee Visit to Herefordshire: Wednesday 12 September 2018
Appendix 7: Note of Committee Visit to South Yorkshire: Wednesday 10 October 2018
Appendix 8: Recommendations relevant to organisations other than central Government
Table 2: List of recommendations for organisations outside central Government