Rural poverty strikes blow to life prospects for children

The report by the Government watchdog the Commission for Rural Communities exposes a major divide between low-income families in the countryside and those in cities, prompting calls for action to ensure equality of access to key services.

As many as half a million children in rural areas in England are living in poverty – and numbers are growing.

In Yorkshire, more than 10,000 households in hamlets or isolated rural areas are earning less than 60 per cent of the national average income, with 4,000 earning 40 per cent.

But the take-up of free school meals – generally seen as a strong indicator of poverty levels – is startlingly low among children in rural families, suggesting many who are entitled are not receiving them.

Just seven per cent of children living the countryside are receiving free school meals compared to 19 per cent in urban areas.

Education standards are generally better in country areas but nevertheless two in five of those receiving free school meals in rural districts fail to achieve basic standards in maths and English.

The research found nearly three out of four teachers at rural schools said their students struggled to get to school owing to transport difficulties.

In Yorkshire, little over 10 per cent of children in rural areas live within three miles of their secondary school compared to nearly 80 per cent in urban areas.

The report showed rural children have far worse access to social housing than their urban counterparts. Its authors made it clear there remained a distinct gap between the quality and quantity of housing available to those in towns and in the countryside.

Commission chief executive Sarah McAdam said equality of service between urban and rural parts must remain an objective for decision makers.

"The countryside is typically considered to provide a safe and healthy environment for children," she said.

"But for vulnerable families there are real challenges to be faced. Rural poverty is rising. Children and young people in low-income rural households can experience considerable isolation and more limited choices when it comes to education, training and future employment.

"Delivery arrangements may well need to be adjusted to take account of the different character of rural areas, but the objective should always be to ensure equitable access to key services."

The problem is being compounded as the numbers of children moving to the countryside are rising, with 16,000 more children living in the rural areas this year compared with last year. However services have not moved to cope with the increased need.

Gary Craig, Professor of Social Justice at Hull University, has written at length on rural poverty and provided advice to Government departments in the issue.

He told the Yorkshire Post that the findings of the report did not surprise him and that rural poverty had become "much worse" in recent years.

"As well as income, one of the key measures of rural poverty is access to key services, things like bus services, a village hall and post offices," he said.

"It is key that there is more extensive investment in social housing so that young people can get on the property ladder and stay in the area."

Prof Craig warned that increasingly poor public services for rural communities risked creating a spiral effect in which poor access to schools resulted in fewer students attending which meant further cuts in funding.

The problems were not confined to children, he said, and recalled the case of a woman in Wensleydale in the Yorkshire Dales who spent an entire day travelling to attend a 10-minute appointment at a hospital in Lancaster.

In addition, a quarter of parents felt there was not adequate childcare available in the countryside, with rural children's centres in the countryside serving more than 1,200 youngsters compared with just 950 in urban areas.

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