Access to Services
23 Feb 2013
Residents ‘trust councils on services’
ALMOST three-quarters of residents are satisfied with the way local councils run services, reveals a report. Levels of trust in councils have risen significantly over the last decade, according to...
Read more23 Feb 2013
Faster broadband one step closer
HIGH-SPEED broadband moved a step closer for Buckinghamshire, which wants a company to lay cables in areas with slow or no connections. The announcement follows a government announcement to increase...
Read more23 Feb 2013
Government mulls rural fuel discount
The government says it is again considering whether to reduce fuel duty for rural motorists. Chief secretary Danny Alexander said the Treasury was considering lobbying Brussels for a cut in...
Read more23 Feb 2013
Police team up against rural crime
FIVE police forces took part in a joint operation to crack down on rural crime across almost 4,000 square miles of northern England. Officers from Durham, Northumbria, North Yorkshire, Cumbria...
Read more18 Feb 2013
Rural campaign starts to bear fruit
THE Rural Services Network has welcomed a government promise to do more to support and manage the extra costs of delivering public services in the countryside. The pledge, by local...
Read more15 Feb 2013
Villagers create hyperfast broadband network
RURAL residents in Lancashire have some of the UK’s fastest internet speeds after creating their own community broadband network. The Broadband for the Rural North (B4RN) initiative held a public...
Read more12 Feb 2013
Call to back broadband bid
PEOPLE are being urged to lend their support to a bid to bring superfast broadband to rural Durham. Some £13.86m has been secured by Durham County Council to provide the technology...
Read more03 Feb 2013
Higher rural fuel prices ‘are fair’
HIGHER fuel prices paid by rural motorists are not the result of foul play, says the government’s competition watchdog. Petrol is around 1.9ppl more expensive in the countryside than in...
Read more21 Jan 2013
Government accepts rural services are underfunded
THE government says it accepts that rural areas are underfunded when it comes to delivering public services. Andrew Lansley, Leader of the House of Commons, said he acknowledged that the...
Read more17 Jan 2013
Faster broadband benefits e-learners
RECENT approval for the upgrade of the UK’s rural broadband network has been welcomed by distance learning service providers. The £530m rural broadband scheme will improve web services in the...
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