Agenda item

Esther Barrott, Adviser, provided background relating to levelling up rural areas before introducing Tim Goodship, Head of Rural Policy at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), who then presented to the Board. Key points from the presentation included the following:

·       Digital connectivity is the main issue raised by rural areas and local politicians.

·       Lack of public transport is a key part of rural hardship.

·       In September, DEFRA launched the £110 million Rural England Prosperity Fund as a top-up to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in eligible rural areas.

·       A £3 million Fund for village halls was opened for applications in December, which received a good response rate.

·       There is ongoing work to review the support that the infrastructure levy might provide for affordable housing schemes and ensure it will be comparable to what was previously provided under Section 106.

The Chair introduced Minette Batters, President of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), who made the following points:

·       There is a new policy framework, with a very different approach to food production and environmental delivery.

·       The environmental land management schemes are extremely different to what was previously in place with direct support payments. Previous land-based payments made a large contribution to farm business income, particularly for grassland and livestock.

·       The economy, particularly in rural areas, has suffered from poor productivity and connectivity.

·       She said it is often underestimated how much farming food production underpins the rural economy.

·       Energy costs and the war in Ukraine were highlighted as issues in the reduced egg production in 2022.

·       It was her hope that future governments would commit to a self-sufficiency target and a statutory reporting duty.

Members made the following comments:

·       Members reflected on some of the issues facing rural areas, including transport and connectivity.

·       A Member asked what local authorities can do to help alleviate current difficulties.

·       How do we ensure that farmers get paid, what it costs to produce food?

·       A Member highlighted that the United Kingdom spends less than 8% of annual income on food.

·       A Member agreed with the view that there needs to be policy work that focuses on rural needs and asks.

Recommendations:

Members noted the background, context and data analysis which informs this workstream and had a wider conversation with key stakeholders from DEFRA and the NFU to inform the development of the Board’s key asks of the rural sector.

Action/s

Following the discussions officers will take away the emerging themes and bring back the key messages for a wider debate with Board members to test and ensure they align with other organisations. The key asks and offers from the rural sector will then be passed on to the next Board and a wider discussion will take place in the new cycle around their dissemination under new Board leadership.

Tim Goodship will provide a copy of the slides from his presentation.