Local Government Finance (Rural Authorities)

Tony Cunningham Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Liddell-Grainger]

indicated dissent.

[Sir Tony Cunningham (Workington) (Lab)]

rose—

[Neil Parish]

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

[Sir Tony Cunningham]

The hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) mentioned the contrast between urban and rural areas, and the deprivation in urban areas. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is deprivation in rural areas, too?

[Neil Parish]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention because that is precisely the point. Rural areas are often leafy and green, and it does not appear, on the face of it, that there is any deprivation there, but there is. In rural areas people often have lower wages and so even those who are working find it very difficult to pay high levels of council tax. He makes a good point.

--- Later in debate ---

[Helen Goodman (Bishop Auckland) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Tiverton and Honiton (Neil Parish) on introducing this debate and the hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) on the good work that he has been doing in running the all-party group on rural services.

I want to make it absolutely clear that this is not just an issue for Government Members; Labour Members are also concerned about it.

[Sir Tony Cunningham]

I am sure that my hon. Friend agrees that this is not a party political issue. Cumbria county council is controlled by Labour and Conservative councillors, and they think that the situation is unfair.

[Helen Goodman]

Precisely—it is unfair. There is a lot of deprivation in rural areas, many of which in my constituency are former mining areas and old mining villages where the levels of deprivation are among the highest in the country. That is also true of Cumbria and in Derbyshire.

It is important to consider why service delivery is more expensive in the countryside. Distance issues that do not apply in urban areas mean that the costs of delivering village schools, school transport, health services, social care, transport to hospitals and ambulance services all shoot up.