21 October 2010
For immediate release
Rural councils face brunt
of spending cuts
Rural local authorities are likely to be among those hardest hit by cuts in government spending, suggests a survey.
Some 36% of rural councils are already cutting services or reducing service levels, reveals the study[1] by the Rural Services Network[2]. A further 61% of rural councils are either planning to or expect to cut services to manage budgetary pressure.
Leisure and arts expenditure are among the services most likely to be cut, according to the survey. But spending on planning, housing and recycling is also likely to be hit.
The survey was conducted ahead of this week's comprehensive spending review, which slashed budgets across government. Although the sample size is small, with 36 respondents, the survey is the first indication of the impact of budget cuts on rural service providers.
In most (57%) cases, service reductions are expected to be broadly comparable across rural and urban areas. But in one third of cases, service reductions and cuts are expected to be more acute in rural areas.
Rural Services Network chairman Roger Begy OBE said: "Nobody is denying that the countryside should take its fair share of any cuts.
"But this survey shows that rural communities and service providers are likely to bear the brunt of the government's austerity measures - which surely cannot be right."
Two authorities said they planned to revise or extend their Rural Action Plan in an effort to address concerns about access to services. Three authorities said they planned to engage with or invest in parish and town councils as alternative service providers.
Four local authorities indicated that reductions or cuts were expected to be made across the board and so affect all service areas. The survey was carried out on behalf of the Rural Services Network by analyst Brian Wilson, of Brian Wilson Associates[3].
"Service reductions or cuts will leave certain vulnerable groups in the rural population isolated and without ready access to services," he said. "Cuts in public transport, for example, will have wide impacts, leaving some unable to reach employment opportunities or shops."
Athough most authorities expected service reductions to be spread across their locality, many thought rural communities would be hardest hit.
"Service outlets are already far and few between in many rural areas, so closures will have a larger impact on people's access to them. A number of authorities are looking to communities and voluntary groups to play more of a role, plugging gaps in service provision."
But a large majority of rural councils expected their grant funding to the voluntary and community sector to be a victim of the cuts.
"As some acknowledge, it is hard to see how this fits with national policy aspirations for localism and the Big Society," Mr Wilson said.
Media contact:
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
1) The full findings can be downloaded at http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/images/files/budgetcutssurveyoct2010.doc
2) The Rural Services Network is a group of more than 200 organisations working together to improve the delivery of rural services across England. The two operating arms of the network are the Sparsity Partnership for Authorities Delivering Rural Services (SPARSE) and the Rural Services Partnership. Further information and a full list of members are available at http://www.rsnonline.org.uk
3) Brian Wilson Associates offers high quality research, evaluation and advice, to support organisations which make, shape and deliver policies. Services include policy reviews, including rural proofing advice; strategy and plan development, and research. Further information and a full list of members is available at http://brianwilsonassociates.co.uk
4) The Rural Services Network seeks to establish best practice across the spectrum of rural service provision. The network has representation across the complete range of rural services, including local authorities, public bodies, businesses, charities and voluntary groups. We are devoted to safeguarding and improving services in rural communities across England. We are the only national network specifically focusing on this vital aspect of rural life.
5) The Rural Services Network exists to ensure services delivered to the communities of predominantly rural England are as strong and as effective as possible. The term 'predominately rural' refers to counties and Local Authority districts with at least 50 percent of their population living in rural settlements (ie. rural towns, villages, hamlets and dispersed dwellings) as identified in the Office for National Statistics' rural definition, and including larger market towns as identified in the Defra classification of local authority districts. The rural definition and classification were devised by the Rural Evidence Research Centre (RERC) at Birkbeck College. Further information on these can be found at http://www.rerc.ac.uk
ENDS
Released by Ruralcity Media on behalf of the Rural Services Network and Brian Wilson Associates.