Removing Rural Barriers Could Unlock Major Opportunities

The House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee has today published its report Social Mobility: Local Roots, Lasting Change setting out how educational and work opportunities must be better integrated across the UK. The Rural Services Network contributed evidence to the inquiry, emphasising the unique barriers faced by rural communities - including transport, connectivity and access to affordable housing - and urging Government to ensure rural communities are not left behind in national policy design.

This new report reinforces the themes highlighted in an earlier rural bulletin article, Social Mobility Starts with Rural Opportunity, and places rural disadvantage firmly within the national conversation on social mobility for the first time in this Parliament.

The Committee’s findings make clear that place matters. They underline that a person’s educational and working opportunities should not be determined by the place they are born, and that opportunities should exist for individuals to improve their socio-economic status throughout the country. Social mobility cannot be improved without addressing the structural barriers holding rural residents back.

The report identifies three key issues limiting opportunity in rural areas:

• Lack of affordable housing, restricting young people's ability to live, study and work locally.
• Poor and infrequent transport links, making access to education, apprenticeships and employment significantly harder.
• Insufficient broadband and mobile connectivity, limiting digital access, learning options and the growth of rural enterprises.

These findings closely mirror the evidence RSN presented, and the challenges highlighted in our previous article, including the limited transport options for apprentices, the gap in digital inclusion, and the severe shortage of affordable long-term rentals in many rural communities.

A Call For Local Solutions

The Committee stresses that local partnerships between councils, colleges, universities, employers and community organisations are central to improving outcomes. However, they can only succeed where the right structures, collaboration and local leadership are in place.

The report is clear:

“Lack of affordable housing, inadequate transport provision and poor broadband connectivity continue to prove barriers to social mobility in rural areas.”

NEETS And The Geography Of Opportunity

The report raises significant concern about the growing number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), now approaching one million. It highlights:

• difficulties in tracking young people once they leave education,

• gaps in who holds responsibility for different age groups, and

• inconsistent, fragmented local data.

These issues make it harder for local areas to understand why young people become NEET and to design effective support.

While the report does not state that rural areas are disproportionately affected, it emphasises the need for better local data, clearer accountability, and stronger partnership approaches, so that all young people – wherever they live – can be identified early and supported back into education, employment or training.

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive, Rural Services Network Where you grow up must not determine your life chances, and the Committee is clear that opportunity must exist in every part of the UK. Rural communities are home to a sixth of the population and thousands of small businesses, yet many young people feel they must leave to access education, jobs or housing. The Lords’ recommendations, alongside the evidence we submitted, highlight the need for national policy that genuinely reflects rural realities — including a skills and education system that works for rural learners, reliable transport connections, and improved digital and physical access to opportunity. We continue to make the case that social mobility starts with rural opportunity and that national policy must not assume an urban norm. We welcome the Committee’s recognition that rural disadvantage is real, structural and solvable. With the right action now, the Government can unlock potential across every rural community.

Read the full report here