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Minister insists countryside will not be ignored if rural body cut
THE Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has moved to reassure rural communities they will not be ignored by the Government, despite facing criticism from her coalition counterparts over plans to scrap the body that acts as the “independent voice” for poor communities in the countryside.
Mrs Spelman, the Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), defended the current consultation to abolish the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) during the first of the Government’s new Rural Roadshows which visited Yorkshire yesterday.
During its existence, the CRC has produced a string of important reports and championed the need for affordable housing to keep rural communities alive as well as the crucial need for broadband internet.
Critics say if it is abolished, it will be the first time there has not been an independent voice for the countryside since David Lloyd George was Prime Minister.
Andrew George, the Liberal Democrat rural spokesman, has drafted a letter to Mrs Spelman, saying that without an overseer, there will be a continuation of the “inexorable trend of turning our rural communities into the exclusive preserve of the better off”.
He adds: “A rural commission should exist to provide independent and objective advice on trends which are emerging in respect of the life and prospects of our rural communities and also represent and advocate on behalf of the weakest of the voices which exist in our rural communities.”
But in an interview with the Yorkshire Post, Mrs Spelman claimed the new Rural Roadshows will still help address the priorities and concerns of Yorkshire’s countryside.
“Andrew is entitled to his view,” she said. “Obviously we are consulting on the abolition of the CRC but what matters is to have that direct contact with people who live and work in the countryside.
“The way we have direct contact is to do that face to face.
“We need to reach out to rural communities by talking to them.”
Mrs Spelman also moved to reassure residents at risk of flooding, with hundreds of thousands of home owners currently uncertain whether they will be able to insure their properties in the future.
Time is running out for existing talks between the Government and the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to guarantee protection in flood-risk areas, as the current deal is set to expire in 2013.
The ABI has said it is frustrated with the progress of the discussions.
Mrs Spelman said: “We are doing our part making more than £2bn available for flood protection. We expect insurance companies to do their part.”
As part of her visit yesterday to the Yorkshire Food, Farming and Rural Network, one of 14 set up across the country, Mrs Spelman also visited Oakwood Park Business Centre in Bishop Thornton, near Harrogate, to champion superfast broadband as a boost for rural business.
North Yorkshire has been chosen as one of four pilot areas for a £530m fund announced by the Government.
As part of the programme, a new campaign called Go ON North Yorkshire was launched yesterday to get more people online as well as increase the use of the internet for those already connected.
Coun John Weighell, leader of North Yorkshire County Council, said: “We are the largest rural county in the country but we are determined through these campaigns to place ourselves at the forefront of rural enterprise.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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