The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) president Minette Batters has called the government’s Delivering for rural England report “encouraging”.
She is happy to see “funding being made available through the Rural England Prosperity Fund to help the development and growth of rural businesses”.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published the report, which is the second report on rural proofing, yesterday (Monday, September 5).
The report laid out how rural communities and the rural economy will be supported going forward, e.g. through projects like the £5 billion Project Gigabit, bringing gigabit-capable broadband to 85% of the UK by 2025.
The report also announced that, as part of the Rural England Prosperity Fund, up to £110 million will be made available as capital grants for rural communities and businesses to support development and growth, which may include equipment or modifications of property.
Levelling up and rural proofing the civil service
The report explained how levelling up is about “unleashing opportunity, prosperity and pride in places in every part of the UK”. To achieve this, focus will be on strengthening the rural economy, developing rural infrastructure and improving access to rural services.
Defra is training civil servants on rural-proofing to ensure that they will be aware and and coached in the challenges of rural policy.
Batters labelled this as “promising”, and praised the government for “looking at its levelling up goals through the rural lens and training civil servants on rural proofing”.
“This will help ensure levelling up policies work for those living and working in rural areas, in turn, enabling rural communities to deliver even more when it comes to producing climate-friendly food, providing greater access to the iconic great British countryside and contributing to the national economy,” she said.
The NFU’s levelling up effort
The NFU focuses on highlighting the challenges that arise in rural communities. It considers the rural proofing report to be a “revolutionary approach to rural Britain; one that maximises the potential of a community which plays such a core role in our national prosperity”.
Having launched its own Levelling up rural Britain report last year, the NFU continues to seek and provide solutions in relation to sustainable food production and food policy.
Batters wants to see more interest from other government departments to further improve rural areas.
“We now need to see all government departments taking greater accountability for levelling up rural areas; policies around digital connectivity, tourism, transport and housing are just as important to rural communities as they are to urban ones,” she said.
“Alongside Defra’s work, a specific rural taskforce within the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities would help keep rural needs at the forefront of all levelling up policy-making, enabling rural areas to maximise the opportunities these policies are intended to provide.”
