Access to Services
06 Feb 2017
GP shortage leaves rural patients waiting
A shortage of rural GPs has left rural patients in Lincolnshire waiting four-weeks to see their doctor. Government action was needed to help recruit more GPs and other health professionals,...
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06 Feb 2017
Post Offices extend banking services
A new agreement means more rural residents will be able to bank at their local post office. The deal bring together the Post Office’s existing arrangements with individual banks into...
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01 Feb 2017
Volunteers needed against rural crime
POLICE in one of England’s largest counties are appealing for volunteers to help tackle rural crime. Cumbria Police and Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner hope rural residents will give up...
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30 Jan 2017
Urgent call to save vital rural services
AN urgent adjustment to local government funding is needed to deliver vital rural services, a leading MP has warned. How to fund local public services is one of the big...
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27 Jan 2017
Concern over ‘cash deserts’ in countryside
Rural areas could become “cash deserts” unless a solution is found to a dispute over ATM fees, it has been claimed. The argument is between some banks and independent cash...
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23 Jan 2017
‘More help needed for rural shops’
THE government is facing calls to help secure the future of thousands of rural shops. Campaigners say action is needed so 19,128 rural shops can continue to provide essential services....
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21 Jan 2017
‘Cuts threaten to close 1000 rural schools’
More than 1000 rural schools are threatened with closure because of government funding cuts, say researchers. It comes despite a government pledge to add a “sparsity factor” to its funding...
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17 Jan 2017
‘Patchy’ services blight communities
Rural communities are suffering due to the patchy provision of key services, a major report has warned. Transport, education, health and welfare services that act as a lifeline to more...
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16 Jan 2017
Network slams government’s double whammy for rural communities
RURAL communities face a double whammy of higher council tax bills and fewer public services, the Rural Services Network has warned. The warning is contained in the network’s response to...
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10 Jan 2017
Government’s response is a smokescreen
The Rural Services Network has called the Government’s response to a Sunday newspaper article “nothing more than a smokescreen designed to mask the real issue facing rural council tax payers”....
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