The Government has recently published a policy paper, which lays out the 12 Levelling Up Missions and the metrics that the Government will use to measure progress against these missions.  2 of the Missions were originally set out as exploratory missions relating to Wellbeing and Pride and these have now been set out in detail.

You can read more about these at this link

The Government has also published an ‘Analysis of Geographical Disparities’ paper which follows the 6 capitals framework. 

According to the paper:

“The framework is defined by six capitals: human, physical, intangible, financial, social and institutional and while each capital is individually important as a driver of growth, their significance derives from their interdependence and interaction with other capitals as part of a mutually-reinforcing system.”

This document sets out a number of metrics and provides an analysis of very high level geographical disparities.  Rural / Urban analysis is not provided for all of these metrics but there are some key points to note.

There are four facts presented in the document that show how poorly rural areas are performing.  The image below shows the statement, along with a comment from the RSN on the statistic.

Kerry Booth, Chief Executive of the RSN says: “It is vital that the Government use the statistics that it publishes, to target action at areas needing improvement, including rural communities.  The statistics above show how rural communities are struggling the most with digital connectivity, house prices are less affordable and using public transport to access both employment and services is challenging. Our Winning the Rural Vote campaign sets out a number of ways that the political parties can support rural communities and take action to improve their opportunities for years to come.”

You can view the our Winning the Rural Vote campaign here