Rural Economy

Baroness Jones of Whitchurch Excerpts

Wednesday 27th April 2016 Grand Committee

[Baroness Jones of Whitchurch (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, for tabling this debate today and to all noble Lords, who have brought great insight and experience to it. Of course, if the Government were to be honest in their response, they would have to admit that things are not going very well. It is tough for working people trying to bring up families in the countryside today. Average annual wages are more than £4,500 lower than in urban areas and the gap between the two has grown by £1,000 since 2010. Rural communities have been the worst affected by reductions in public services. Energy, transport and childcare costs, for example, have spiralled. There are GP shortages in many rural areas. Educational attainment is lower than in the urban equivalents and, as we have heard, the housing crisis has hit rural communities hard, with prices rocketing and waiting lists getting longer.

In addition, the 600,000 small rural businesses in England and Wales are feeling undervalued by this Government, despite the fact that they contribute over £200 billion to the economy in England alone. As we have heard this evening, the number one cause of small business complaints is poor or non-existent broadband. It is time the Government got a grip on this. Will the noble Lord confirm that the target of 95% of the country receiving broadband by 2017 will be met? What is the answer to critics who say that the universal service obligation, far from being universal, will add a cost penalty to those living in very rural areas?

Finally, a number of noble Lords raised the economic plight of farming communities and, undoubtedly, it would be worse under Brexit. In addition, the problem of delayed payments from the Rural Payments Agency has come at a particularly difficult time. The recent Public Accounts Committee report makes painful reading, highlighting a failing IT system and a payments fiasco. Will the noble Lord confirm that these problems will be sorted before the next payments deadline?

Meanwhile, the dairy sector is caught in the perfect storm of global market saturation and a plummeting milk price, with a growing exodus from the sector. We all feel alarmed at the implications of this for our rural communities and for longer-term food sustainability. Clearly, one aspect of recovery would be to strengthen the labelling of milk products and to encourage consumers to buy British. Another aspect would be to strengthen the role of the Groceries Code Adjudicator to cover indirect as well as direct suppliers. Will the noble Lord give insight into his department’s longer-term projections for the UK dairy industry? I look forward to his response.