Rural Britain needs levelling up too

The Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill received its Second Reading on 8 June after a debate that, from a rural perspective, was thoroughly underwhelming.

The Countryside Alliance briefed MPs in advance of the debate, focusing on digital connectivity, skills and support for the tourism and hospitality sector. Yet despite being a former Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, Michael Gove, who as the current Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities introduced the Bill, had nothing to say on the unique challenges facing rural communities.

The defence of rural interests was left to a handful of MPs who made valiant efforts to direct discussions towards their constituents' experiences. The most substantial part of the Bill concerns planning, so it is unsurprising that the paucity of housing supply, and in particular affordable housing, in many rural areas was an area of major focus. Former Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron began the trend; Conservative MPs Selaine Saxby and Derek Thomas raised similar concerns.

The most wide-ranging contribution on rural challenges was supplied by Dr Neil Hudson. Also touching on housing as well as digital connectivity and rural services, his speech was primarily about transport. He concluded by raising the importance of achieving equality in the provision of mental health services in rural areas, an issue on which the Countryside Alliance is campaigning extensively. Meanwhile Anne Marie Morris argued that the distinctions between urban and rural areas suggest that levelling up can best be achieved through more local autonomy and devolution.

Aside from its measures on planning, the Bill provides for the Government to undertake 'levelling-up missions', defined as:

"objectives which Her Majesty's Government intends to pursue to reduce geographical disparities in the United Kingdom significantly… within a period specified in the statement… and details of how [it] proposes to measure progress in delivering those levelling-up missions".

It also allows the Secretary of State to create 'combined county authorities', a new tier of local government that can receive powers under local devolution deals and be led by a directly elected mayor; unlike existing city and region deals, these have been designed to suit non-metropolitan areas. As we pointed out in our briefing, by themselves these measures make little difference to the fortunes of rural areas: what could do so depends upon how the new powers are used.

In following the progress of this Bill and its implementation the Countryside Alliance will continue to give voice to rural concerns. We will pressure the Government to see to it that, in its levelling up agenda and in general, the British countryside is not left behind.