Covid has caused a massive shock to society and to rural economies. But there were already huge societal and economic changes underway, some of which have been accelerated by covid. Many of these have a particular impact on rural areas, for example

• remote working is stoking an even higher housing demand in rural areas with particular characteristics;
• the decline of many rural high streets has been accelerated by the rise of online shopping;
• tourism and other seasonal work is impacted by both covid and Brexit.

Meanwhile, the Government is making “levelling up” and “building back better” its central purpose and this will increasingly be seen in policy and funding decisions. TRL Insight has been analysing changes in funding for local areas, monitoring changes in policy and studying societal and economic trends. Recent work includes

• a report on the fragmentation of local authority funding and its impact on specific service areas;
• case studies in public health and inclusive growth;
• advising a study on the decline in local authority funding for neighbourhood services;
• spreadsheet tools for analysing the funding impact of changes to the business rate retention system.

TRL Insight can help local authorities, their partners and other organisations with

• benchmarking, financial modelling and data analysis;
• learning from best practice;
• critical challenge, especially in relation to community engagement, governance, collaboration with others and income generation;
• understanding cost drivers and income opportunities;
• training in relation to any of these areas.

Recent work includes:

• a report on the fragmentation of local authority funding and its impact on specific service areas; https://www.local.gov.uk/fragmented-funding-complex-local-authority-funding-landscape
• advising a study on the decline in local authority funding for neighbourhood services; https://npi.org.uk/publications/local-government/neighbourhood-services-and-sustainable-local-government/
• spreadsheet tools for analysing the funding impact of changes to the business rate retention system. https://www.local.gov.uk/fair-funding-review-modelling-tools

To find out more visit https://trlinsight.co.uk/