Press release

29 August 2006
For immediate release
Contact: Johann Tasker
(07967 634971)

RURAL COMMUNITIES PAY MORE
FOR FEWER SERVICES

Rural communities pay higher council tax for fewer services, reveals a new report which calls for reform of the local government grant system.

SPARSE, the coalition of more towards sixty of England’s most rural local authorities serving 5.5 million people, has today published a study into the cost and range of service provision in rural areas.

The report has concluded that a cross-section of council services cost more to provide in rural areas than in towns and cities.

This, and the fact that countryside councils get less government grant than their urban counterparts, means the burden of higher council tax bills is compounded by fewer services provided to far-flung villages and rural communities.

The Government is to publish a White Paper on local government reform in the autumn and SPARSE is now pressing ministers to change the local government finance system to take account of the extra cost of providing services in rural areas and the needs of countryside communities.

Cllr Steven Pugsley, Chairman of SPARSE, said:

'What this report shows is that, when it comes to public services in the countryside, you pay more and you get less.

'It is time for ministers to recognise the extra cost of providing services in rural areas by announcing plans to reform the grant system in this autumn's White Paper.'

The study, compiled by Rita Hale, a local government finance expert, looked at the extent to which the effects of rurality on costs are reflected in the distribution of central government funding for local authorities and other public bodies.

SPARSE and its predecessor bodies have been concerned for many years that the costs of delivering local government services are higher in rural areas.

The study used Shropshire County Council, South Shropshire District Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council as case studies.

The services it focused on were schools, home-to-school transport costs, domiciliary care for older people and refuse collection costs.

In each case, rural factors, such as sparsity, population dispersal and settlement patterns made it more expensive to provide services.

The study found that in relation to schools, unit costs are significantly higher in small primary schools than in larger primary schools, and small primary schools are located in the most sparsely populated areas.

Home-to-school transport costs were significantly higher in absolute terms for the school serving the most sparsely populated part of the Study area.

Domiciliary care services for older people living in rural areas, who need a large number of visits from carers each week, is likely to be significantly higher than the cost of providing the same care packages for older people living in urban areas.

In the areas studied, there were significant premiums for refuse collection in rural areas, compared with collections in urban parts of the district; a 72% premium in East Riding, and 90% in South Shropshire.

The study found that the Government’s new revenue grant distribution system for 2006-07 has not made any major changes to the treatment of population sparsity in the formulae which most effects SPARSE authorities.

Graham Biggs, Chief Executive of South Shropshire Council responded to the report, saying:

"This study proves, once again, what we on the ground have always known, namely that it costs very much more to provide the same level of service to households in the sparsely populated areas than in urban areas, even within the same district using the same contractors.

“That there is a 90% rural premium for the refuse collection and recycling service in deeply rural areas will, I am sure, surprise many."

A spokesman from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, responded to the report by saying:

“This authoritative study adds to the evidence of the cost pressures that a rural area like the East Riding has to face.

“East Riding of Yorkshire Council receives one of the lowest funding amounts per pupil in the country yet the report shows that schools in the area, due to their rurality, have high unit costs when compared to those located in urban areas.

“The additional costs of providing other services, such as domiciliary care for older people, in a rural area were also made worse by grants being switched to London authorities.”

Laura Rowley, Director of Resources of Shropshire County Council commented:

"Previous independent reports from the Countryside Agency have demonstrated the additional cost of providing services in rural areas. Rita Hale's most recent report goes further and makes clear that in rural areas like Shropshire the costs are greater still because people live in all areas of the County and are dispersed over a very wide area.

“Scotland's funding formula directs more money towards authorities with dispersed populations so that essential services can be provided to vulnerable people. England's funding formula should include something similar."

While the report has only focused on three geographical areas, Rita Hale now believes that, from her experience in compiling the study, 'the improvements in both technology and local authorities’ management information systems in recent years should make it possible to link data on the provision of services and the cost of those services with the spatial characteristics of the areas, in order to identify the effects of rurality on costs'.

Notes to Editors

1. SPARSE represents nearly 60 of England's most rural local authorities - from Cornwall to Cumbria from Norfolk to Shropshire - providing the full range of local services, from schools to refuse collection. Our current membership is:

Alnwick District Council
Babergh District Council
Berwick Upon Tweed Borough Council
Boston Borough Council
Bridgnorth District Council
Chichester District Council
Copeland District Council
Craven District Council
Cumbria County Council
Daventry District Council
Devon County Council
East Lindsey District Council
East Northamptonshire Council
East Riding of Yorkshire
Eden District Council
Fenland District Council
Forest of Dean Council
Harborough District Council
Kennet District Council
Lincolnshire County Council
Maldon District Council
Malvern Hills District Council
Melton Borough Council
Mid Devon District Council
Newark and Sherwood District Council
North Cornwall District Council
North Kesteven District Council
North Norfolk District Council
North Shropshire District Council
North Warwickshire Borough Council
North Yorkshire County Council
Oswestry Borough Council
Ribble Valley Borough Council
Richmondshire District Council
Rutland County Council
Ryedale District Council
Scarborough Borough Council
Shropshire County Council
Somerset County Council
South Hams District Council
South Holland District Council
South Kesteven District Council
South Northamptonshire District Council
South Shropshire District Council
Stratford on Avon District Council
Suffolk Coastal District Council
Teesdale District Council
Tynedale District Council
Uttlesford District Council
West Devon Borough Council
West Dorset District Council
West Lindsey District Council
West Somerset District Council
Wiltshire County Council
Wychavon District Council