Rural Services Network - Rural Services Network

RURAL local authorities face big challenges when it comes to providing services for older people in the countryside, suggests a study.

ELIGIBILITY for the government's Warm Front scheme has changed, with additional benefits for successful applicants.

THE government has unveiled funding to help communities bring jobs and homes to their neighbourhood using improved planning powers.

RURAL businesses and communities are expected to be among the main beneficiaries of faster next-generation mobile broadband.

Community transport initiatives are helping connect more villages and provide a better service for local residents.

AN innovative library service has opened in a small village in Cumbria.

BETTER support is needed for rural communities to deliver their own superfast internet connections.

VULNERABLE and older residents are to benefit from additional funding to help them live safely and independently at home.

CONCERN over rural services - including a lack of affordable housing and community involvement - is highlighted in a major report.

AN influential committee of MPs has criticised local government for 'dumping' incomprehensible spending data on residents.

RURAL people and businesses risk being left behind by the government's broadband strategy, peers have warned.

The Rural Services Network news service scored top marks in a survey of members.

MPs have criticised proposals to relocate Post Offices into other shops offering a reduced range of services.

ENERGY supplier Calor is highlighting two studies it has carried out in a bid to alleviate fuel poverty.

RURAL youngsters face extra barriers when trying to finding work, training and education, warns a report.

CHANGES to the law which would allow tractors to use "red diesel" for gritting roads have been published by the government.

RURAL Yorkshire could be next in line for a government-backed fuel duty discount, it has emerged.

RURAL areas face being hardest hit by the government's green energy plans, ministers have been told.

NEW rules have come into force allowing communities to bid to take over local services they believe they can run better themselves.

LIBRARIES are hosting unusual events such as speed-dating as they strive to keep open amid budget cuts.

RURAL residents may miss out on faster broadband connections unless they respond to a special survey.

RURAL areas receive lower funding and spend less on social care – despite having more older people than urban local authorities, reveals a report.

RURAL residents are to attend discussion groups as part of a review of library services in East Sussex.

MPs have demanded that ambulances respond quicker to life-threatening rural emergencies.

BUDGET reductions have forced a review of local bus services in Leicestershire.

RISING fuel prices mean more people are going hungry to heat their homes, a rural councillor has warned.

RURAL residents are being urged to take action ahead of an expected increase in theft and burglaries.

SUPPORTING local shops and community facilities are among key plans for a market town.

COMPETITION watchdogs should investigate high rural fuel prices, the government has been told.

PLANS to reform the local bus subsidy system have been welcomed by Britain's biggest bus operator.

A NEW broadband scheme aims to boost business in the North Yorkshire market towns of Malton and Norton.

RURAL bus routes could fall like skittles this year due to a double whammy of government cuts, a local authority leader has warned.

VILLAGES and small towns are bearing the brunt of police station closures, reveals a survey.

THOUSANDS of Post Office branches will be modernised as part of a £1.34 billion government pledge to avoid another round of closures.

RURAL residents pay more to fill up their cars than their urban counterparts, reveals new research.

INDEPENDENT shops are vital to the revival of Britain's high streets and market towns, suggests a survey.

RURAL residents are being asked to give their views on library services in East Sussex.

FEARS over rural bank closures have prompted a debate in Parliament.

SPENDING cuts mean a challenging future for rural development networks, warns a report.

WARWICKSHIRE has become the latest county to unveil major funding to improve rural broadband connections.

THE Rural Services Network is looking for examples of good practice in rural service delivery.

RURAL communities in East Sussex are being urged to join the push for superfast broadband.

SLOW broadband speeds are leaving rural areas in the digital Dark Ages – despite faster connections nationally.

CULTURE minister Ed Vaizey has praised the enthusiasm of councils rolling out superfast broadband.

SOCIAL enterprise can play a key role in providing rural services across England, says a report.

REVISED mobile plans unveiled by Ofcom aim to bring broadband access to more rural 'not-spots'.

MORE rural pubs could be saved from closure by providing community services such as post office counters, believes an MP.

LOCAL authorities have less than three months to submit draft plans for rolling-out superfast broadband.

POLICE forces are launching innovative approaches to tackling rural crime in the run-up to Christmas.

LOCAL authorities can help ensure customers don't lose out when their post office closes, says a study.