Countryside Alliance praised in rural economy debate

This week saw the House of Lords debate the rural economy, where there were near universal calls for a rural strategy to be put in place as well as demands that the Government must rural proof proposed policies to ensure they don't have a negative impact on the countryside.

Ahead of this debate on the Rural Economy Committee Report: 'Time for a strategy for the rural economy', the Countryside Alliance briefed the Lords and highlighted seven key concerns:

• Rural Economy
• Digital Connectivity
• Rural Services
• Rural Crime
• Business, Employment, Skills and Demography
• Rural Housing and Planning
• Government Policy, Devolution and Local Government

Within each of these issues, we stressed that a lack of such provisions has had, and continues to have, a negative impact on those living in the countryside. We were able to make your voice heard via feedback from our rural economy survey which we conducted last year. In providing such organic evidence in our briefing note, we were able to effectively put across our point, voiced through your experiences, to members of the House of Lords.

The House of Lords Rural Economy Committee published its final report on 27^th April 2019, which called on the Government to "rethink and reform" how it engages with rural communities. The main takeaway was the finding that there was "significant room for improvement" in rural proofing. From this finding, it recommended that the Government develop a "comprehensive rural strategy" which is something that we at the Countryside Alliance called for ahead of the report.

The Countryside Alliance featured multiple times throughout the debate being mentioned in relation to our briefing note. More specifically on the issue of delivering broadband and mobile connectivity across rural areas, Baroness Rock reiterated the Countryside Alliance's view "…that coverage obligations remain essential."

To view the Hansard report and video of the debate, click here.