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Milestones for change, for rural?
The Prime Minister Kier Starmer last week unveiled his Plan for Change, setting out ‘ambitious but achievable milestones they aim to meet by the end of this Parliament.’
The missions of the Government, are built on the foundations of a stable economy, secure borders and national security.
The Government has set out in its Plan For Change, 6 milestones which are measurable for each mission.
The Government has been clear that it wants to ‘unlock the pride and potential of every nation and region across our islands.’ This must include our rural communities and the milestones are set out below with a rural commentary from the RSN.
Milestone |
RSN Commentary |
|
Raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom, so working people have more money in their pocket as we aim to deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7. |
The cost of living is higher in rural areas and workplace based incomes are lower than the national average, we must ensure that living standards are raised for all areas of the country. |
|
Building 1.5 million homes in England and fast-tracking planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects - more than the last 14 years combined. |
The RSN supports the development of the right homes of the right tenure in the right places with infrastructure and access to services. In the rural context that may mean a small number of homes in many of our rural villages. |
|
Ending hospital backlogs to meet the NHS standard of 92% of patients in England waiting no longer than 18 weeks for elective treatment. |
Supporting the NHS will ensure a holistic approach to fairly fund social care so that patients are not blocking beds waiting for care packages in the community. The specific challenges in rural areas must be addressed including the recruitment and retention of NHS staff, improved digital connectivity and access to rural patients to health and care services. |
|
Putting police back on the beat with a named officer for every neighbourhood, and 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood roles in England and Wales. |
The huge geographical areas comprising neighbourhoods in the rural context must be recognised along with the specific challenges of rural crime and it’s wider impact on the community including organised crime and county lines. |
|
Giving children the best start in life, with a record 75% of 5-year-olds in England ready to learn when they start school. |
There can be challenges with the delivery of early years/ childcare support in the rural context including the number of providers, cost in relation to workplace based incomes and physical infrastructure. |
|
Securing home-grown energy, protecting billpayers, and putting us on track to at least 95% clean power by 2030, while accelerating the UK to net zero. |
The RSN welcomes the focus on energy and infrastructure particularly where issues such as digital and mobile connectivity, the capacity and fragility of the electricity network and flooding events can be huge constraints. Rural areas should benefit from solutions, job opportunities and economic growth rather than being a place of land to support developments. |
In short we welcome the Government’s approach to setting clear milestones for their missions, but we would like to see a focus on the challenges facing rural communities.
To hit these milestones, may require different policy solutions for rural areas to address any barriers to opportunity.
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