Latest News
12 Nov 2018
Leaked memo reveals Defra Brexit panic
A leaked memo sent on 22nd October shows plans for the emergency reshuffle of staff to support work in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to help...
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12 Nov 2018
Rural hospitals on knife crime frontline
The Guardian reported on the pressures being faced by rural hospitals as a result of the so-called ‘county lines’ drugs trade, which has seen urban gangs moving drugs between cities...
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12 Nov 2018
High street crisis intensifies
An average of 14 high street shops are closing every day, with only 1.569 new shops opening in the period between January and June 2018, an historic low. According to...
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12 Nov 2018
Second homes ‘tax loophole’ review
The Government has launched a review of a tax loophole under which the owners of second homes register their properties as businesses in order to gain small business rate relief....
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05 Nov 2018
Government funds rural broadband
Philip Hammond on Monday announced £200 million of Government funding to extend full-fibre broadband to hard-to-reach rural areas. The Rural Gigabit Connectivity Programme will install hubs in public buildings such...
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05 Nov 2018
Rural areas ‘least socially mobile’
A report recently published by the County All-Party-Parliamentary Group (APPG) and County Councils Network (CCN), Social Mobility in Counties, has found that current council funding models contribute to maintaining a...
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05 Nov 2018
The Budget 2018 – Response review
There has been much comment on the Chancellor’s Budget in the press. The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) welcomed the introduction of a Structures and Buildings Allowance for non-residential structures as...
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05 Nov 2018
Rules against rural school closures
Closing a rural school in Wales should only happen after councils have done “everything they can” to keep it open, according to new guidelines. Changes to the School Organisation Code...
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05 Nov 2018
O2 boosts rural 4G Coverage
UK mobile network operator, O2, has promised to improve 4G coverage in 330 rural towns and villages across the UK with a £45 million expansion project, according to TotalTelecom and...
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05 Nov 2018
Budget Review – Implications for Rural Communities
The Treasury have provided us with a summary of announcements from the Budget 2018 which benefit Rural Areas. Below is a table showing these announcements set against the RSN...
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