The Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP launched the Spring Budget 2023 last week in Parliament and the Rural Services Network has been exploring some of the headline announcements to see their impact for rural communities. Indeed, whether the policies introduced have been rural proofed at all is up for discussion with rural mentioned only once in the whole 122 page document (apart from in the title of DEFRA).

Headline policies include:

Energy Bills capped until June – Energy bills support has been extended for an extra three months
RSN Response: This is welcome news for households struggling with the cost of living crisis but what about those who live in off gas grid homes, predominantly in rural areas who will not benefit from this and experience high costs for heating.  Government figures show that 52.6% of rural properties are off the gas grid compared to just 9.8% of urban properties leaving more rural residents at a disadvantage. There are also significant numbers on neither the gas or electricity networks. There was no clear mention of initiatives to further support these households, some of whom are still waiting for the £200 Alternative Fuel Payment from last year.

Free Childcare scheme of 30 hours expanded to younger children
RSN Response: In principle this is a positive move to support families back into work, however families in rural areas grapple with limited provision, and longer journeys to access childcare.  There are concerns that the voucher scheme will not cover the cost of providing services which may affect nurseries ability to stay open, hugely concerning considering the difficulties in recruiting nursery staff in rural communities.

£63 Million scheme for swimming pools
RSN Response: While we welcome the support to keep facilities open, especially in rural areas, this closing of leisure centres has come about due to Government cuts to funding over a period of several years.  The government unfairly distributes funding leaving urban councils with almost double the budget to spend on discretionary services compared to rural authorities and this includes on services such as leisure facilities and swimming pools, libraries and public transport.  Whether there be priority for rural areas in these funds or whether the Government will ultimately resolve fair funding overall for rural councils remains to be seen!

Consult on transferring power for local economic growth from LEPS to LAs from April 2024. 
RSN Response: Will any funding be available to Local Authorities if they are taking on additional responsibilities for local economic growth? What happens to the LEPs after April?

£400Million to boost Levelling Up Partnerships to regenerate 20 places across England
The Levelling Up Partnerships aim to ‘invest in towns and cities and identify barriers to growth’ according to HM Treasury.  According to figures from DEFRA, productivity in rural areas is almost 20% lower than the England average.  We would encourage the Government to be investing in our rural areas to address barriers that have hindered their long term growth and enable them to reach their full potential.

As more detail emerges on the schemes and initiatives announced in the Spring Budget, we will be considering the rural impact in more detail, to champion our member organisations and their challenges in delivering services to rural areas to parliamentarians.