Rural Economy

Earl of Shrewsbury Excerpts

Thursday 3rd July 2014 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[The Earl of Shrewsbury]

That this House takes note of the case for investment in the rural economy.

[The Earl of Shrewsbury (Con)]

My Lords, the rural economy by its very nature is substantial and widely diverse: from agriculture, horticulture and arboriculture through mineral extraction, rural crafts, tourism, hospitality and field sports—the list goes on. Our countryside is a powerhouse of business and productivity, with agriculture as its backbone. Indeed agriculture, food production and processing is the largest manufacturing sector in the United Kingdom. I declare an interest as a member of both the NFU and the Countryside Alliance, and I live on the edge of the Peak District National Park.

Tourism also plays a major part in the rural economy. Inextricably linked to agriculture, the rural tourism industry all but died during the last foot and mouth epidemic and the bluetongue crisis. Thankfully, that dire situation is well on the way to full recovery, and Great Britain’s rural areas are indeed open for business. The UK’s national parks are a major draw for tourism with many additional benefits to local businesses of all types: hotels, pubs and restaurants, B&B establishments, holiday lets and activity centres, to name but a few. These parks are some of our most iconic landscapes, archaeological and historical sites, as well as our most valuable wildlife habitats. These beautiful regions contain strong communities who care passionately about their surroundings. These areas are living landscapes in the true sense and are visited by millions of people every year.

However, all is not always well in these rural areas. Many small communities have lost their social focal points. Pubs are closing at the nationwide rate of 18 per week, many of them in rural areas. Village shops have closed in large numbers although some communities, such as the village where my noble friend Lord Geddes lives, have invested in their own community shops, which is to be applauded. Many small post offices have closed, thus denying those communities financial services. For the rural community to grow, access to services is absolutely essential. Seven out of 10 villages in England no longer have a shop and rural Britain has lost over a quarter of its bank branches since 1995. The announcement in January this year by the Post Office about making available a current account in more than 100 branches, rising to 2,000, is most welcome but it is unclear how many of these branches will be in rural areas. I commend to your Lordships the post office at Rosehall, Glen Cassley, in Sutherland. It is a real outpost. That post office and village shop was saved from total closure by the local landowner for the community. He also happened to own Harrods, so he had a bob or two to spend.

Rural crime such as metal theft, fuel theft, livestock theft and fly-grazing presents major problems, as do fly-tipping, poaching and burglary, in areas which are often remote. In 2012, rural theft cost an estimated £42.3 million. Farm Watch and rural watch schemes— similar to neighbourhood watch—can be very effective in enabling the rapid exchange of intelligence about offences and suspicious activities but do not exist in all rural areas and are not always operated as effectively as they could be. The fact is that increasing pressures on police budgets have meant that rural areas have insufficient coverage, leaving country folk often feeling isolated and fearful of crime. All these matters need to be addressed with greater vigour and along the lines of the National Farmers’ Union’s action plan.

Turning to planning matters, planning policy in rural areas does affect food production, and the availability of an affordable housing supply is crucial to the well-being of the agricultural sector, as well as all rural communities. Figures released by the National Housing Federation on 30 June 2014 to mark the start of national housing week show that rural areas have become some of the least affordable areas to live in the country. On average, house prices in rural areas are 11 times the average salary. Wages would need to rise by 150% for potential homebuyers in these areas to buy a home. The problem continues to worsen, and it is imperative that the issue of affordable rural housing be addressed as a priority. Community-led affordable housing initiatives for smaller rural communities are needed, with properties both for sale and for the rental sector. Indeed, in Ballater in Aberdeenshire, people find it extremely difficult to get on to the housing ladder because retirees from below the border think it is a wonderful place to retire and the price of properties has gone up out of the reach of locals. It is very sad when you see that happening.

The Government’s recent proposals to make it easier for empty and redundant buildings to be converted into productive use are to be welcomed, but there is a caveat here. Such conversions are considerably more expensive than new-build and fraught with structural and planning difficulties. I know; I have been there. There is a very strong case for VAT to be cut on the labour element of domestic repair, maintenance and improvement of these buildings. It would not only generate growth and jobs but would protect the countryside against unnecessary new developments while bringing empty properties back into use and cutting carbon emissions. Will my noble friend make every effort to persuade his colleagues in the Treasury to look again carefully at the VAT position?

It is impossible for me to speak in a debate which addresses the rural economy without mentioning the importance of field sports to the well-being of that economy and their substantial contribution to the environment. I declare an interest as president of the Gun Trade Association and as a lifelong devotee of country sports. With regard to the rural economy, field sports and, in particular, quarry shooting, very often provide almost the only employment in less favoured, upland parts of the United Kingdom. Currently, 480,000 people shoot live quarry, and the annual spend from shooting sports is around £2 billion. Considerable sums are spent each year by foreign visitors on high quality, high cost game shooting on many of the country’s top sporting estates, with the obvious benefits those customers bring to the rural economy. The shooting sports, which provide the equivalent of 70,000 full-time jobs, are involved in the management of two-thirds of the rural land area. Two million hectares are actively managed for conservation as a result of shooting, with £250 million per annum being spent on conservation. These are significant figures.

Finally, I shall address the issue of broadband and its vital importance to the rural economy. Without the adequate supply of superfast broadband facilities, the rural economy is stifled. More and more institutions, such as Defra, HMRC and many more, are requiring customers to send in returns and other information in electronic form. If one does not have broadband—many people do not—one is expected to use an agent at significant extra cost for rural businesses. They simply cannot afford it. While I praise the Government’s effort and commitment to improving rural broadband coverage, and I welcome strongly the funds they have put aside for councils, four years since the announcement of BDUK, people who live in areas with little or unreliable broadband and mobile phone signals have yet to see the situation improving. A vastly improved broadband and mobile telephone rollout to all rural areas is key to the future growth and well-being of the rural economy. Will my noble friend confirm the current position of the rollout of broadband and 4G to the rural areas most affected? What is his estimate of when this essential service will be available at a competitive rate?

I have managed only to scratch the surface of the rural economy, and I have endeavoured to paint a broad picture. I welcome the opportunity to discuss these issues as they are all very serious. I shall listen with great interest to the debate, and I look forward to my noble friend’s responses. I beg to move.

--- Later in debate ---

[The Earl of Shrewsbury]

My Lords, this has been a fascinating debate; we really ought to do this more often. The countryside is a very special place. The debate has covered a wide variety of issues, not least broadband. Although I appreciate that Her Majesty’s Government are doing as much as they can to widen the scope of broadband in rural areas, it is not just the fact that a lot of the country has not been covered by it, it is the fact that it is so blooming slow. That is a real bugbear throughout the rural community, where people really rely on it, and increasingly need to.

I am extremely grateful to all noble Lords who have taken part in the debate, and I thank the Minister for his courtesy, as always, in his responses. I finish by saying that the countryside is indeed a magical and most special place, but it is also a place of serious work and investment, not simply a green and pleasant land.

Motion agreed.