Rural Economy

Baroness Redfern Excerpts

Wednesday 27th April 2016 Grand Committee

[Baroness Redfern (Con)]

My Lords, I speak in this short debate to add my continued support of economic growth in our rural areas, which at the moment contribute a fifth of England’s total economic activity, for future job opportunities and improved prosperity.

Promoting a strong rural economy will be enhanced with local neighbourhood plans in place which will encourage and support all types of businesses and enterprise, promoting the development and diversification of agricultural and other land-based small businesses where, on average, 29% of all businesses employ only up to nine employees.

Starter homes for first-time buyers are so important where they can connect the places where young people work with where they want to live. Local services and community facilities in villages, such as small local shops, meeting places, sports venues, cultural buildings, public houses and places of worship are invaluable and must be developed and supported. Where would we be without our village schools, often described as the pulse of a community?

However, there are many challenges facing rural life and one has to look back only a few short months to the flooding that not only affected market towns and villages but had a severe impact on agriculture and the confidence of businesses going forward. An area of importance is connectivity. Superfast broadband plays a significant role in supporting businesses. As leader of North Lincolnshire Council, I am pleased that we will have rolled out broadband by May this year to an impressive 95% coverage. I allude to the speech of the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of St Albans. We use lots of water towers and church spires as well to get that coverage across. It is a lifeline, too, for many people to have access to internet in their homes, helping to combat loneliness, which in turn can be a real health problem as many retired people live in our rural areas.

In supporting the rural health agenda, we have introduced and developed five well-being hubs, such as the one in Epworth where I live. It provides many choices of activities from Cook4life, fitness and singing for the brain to maths, with lunch clubs and GPs so that people can meet and gain support and information—not only to reduce that feeling of isolation but to meet new people and build new friendships.

Connectivity is highly important when it comes to education, and again, we in North Lincolnshire recognise that for many students where they live is a barrier to further education, so we provide free post-16 school transport, giving all our students real choices to further their education and where they wish to study.

Sustainable rural tourism and leisure benefit not only businesses but communities and visitors alike, so we must expand our visitor facilities in appropriate locations, making sure that they are all-inclusive for all to access.

As we embark on our devolution deal, harnessing all of Lincolnshire’s districts, where many have large rural areas, the much-needed extra funding which comes with that deal will kick-start our ambitious infrastructure projects which, I feel sure, aid and accelerate growth and investment. Collectively, we can attract more businesses while helping established businesses expand, bringing those much-needed new jobs to our rural economy.

Finally, there will always be challenges and we have to manage the risks, but local authorities offer significant support in making sure that wealth is created in our rural areas. I thank my noble friend Lady McIntosh for securing this debate, but I must say that I am not very keen on pigs’ trotters.