The RSN works to encourage a thriving rural economy in order to help support our rural communities.
T: 01822 851370 E: admin@sparse.gov.uk
Local Authority Finance underpins all of the work of Local Authorities and effective management of these scarce resources is very important to all Councillors, Officers and Rural Communities.
We provide a range of services to help support Local Authority Finance Officers and Councillors.
We carry out RO and RA analysis and provide comparisons for Councils so that they can see their spend or budgeted spend against other similar rural authorities.
A large part of our work includes campaigning for fairer funding for rural local authorities.
Rural residents pay more, receive fewer services and, on average, earn less than those in urban areas and that is inequitable
The way that the Local Government Finance Settlement has been calculated has resulted in rural areas being significantly underfunded when compared to urban areas for a number of years.
We appreciate that we are in a time of austerity and cuts are being made to local government funding, however we are campaigning for a fairer distribution of the funds, so that historical imbalances where rural areas are penalised, do not continue.
Each year we provide an analysis of the Local Government Finance Settlement. This supports the work that we do with the Fairer Funding Campaign and also provides useful information for individual authorities as to their position.
We provide a range of information and briefings about key proposals from the Government in relation to local authority finance, consultation information and Calls for Evidence from both us and the Government for information.
This analysis is taken from the RA revenue estimate returns made by each authority to the Government. It shows authority expenditiure per head divided into key areas of service and provides a comparison with relevant benchmarks. ...
This analysis is taken from the final outturn estimates of local authority revenue expenditure and financing, and provides the expenditure per head for each service area, the corresponding percentage of total service expenditure, and in both cases an average for...
Sparse Rural represents rural local authorities and is campaigning for Fairer Funding for Rural Areas. The Final Local Government Finance Settlement was published on 6th February 2023. It can be viewed at this link ...
Our Chief Executive Graham Biggs MBE gave evidence today (16th October 2018) to the House of Lords Select Committee on the Rural Economy. He responded to a number of questions on the Rural Economy and here is a...
The RSN has responded to the Finance Settlement 2019 Technical Consultation (September 2018) You can download the full RSN response below: PDF Version - click here Word version - click here...
Response from the Rural Services Network/ SPARSE-Rural – March 2018 The Rural services Network, whilst represented on the Working Group welcomes the opportunity to input into the Fair Funding Relative Needs consultation 2018 You can download the...
We provide a wide range of analysis and information to support our position with our fairer funding campaign. This ranges from information for Members of Parliament to enable them to take part in high profile parliamentary debates to information for...
Submitted by email 28th October, 2016 to LGFConsultation@communities.gsi.gov.uk We are responding to this consultation as the organisation Rural Services Network. We are a Special Interest Group of the Local Government Association and we represent over 125 Local Authorities...
1) 100% Business Rate Retention – CCN, RSN and DCN Shared Principles Statement The County Councils Network (CCN), District Councils' Network (DCN) and Rural Services Network (RSN) have jointly welcomed the Government's intention to move to 100% retention...
Below are four briefing notes about the Government's proposals to radically overhaul local government finance by introducing 100% Business Rates retention. Their prime purpose is to aid understanding of the proposals and rural issues arising. They are based upon research commissioned...
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The RSN demands fairer funding from Central Government who have historically and systematically underfunded rural areas.
The RSN campaigns to help rural residents overcome multiple access barriers to key services which includes poor transport and broadband.
The RSN is challenging often overlooked rural threats such as chronic underfunding, changes in population and diminishing resources.
The RSN wants to ensure rural communities have the same access to health care as is currently received in urban areas.
Rural residents can suffer from Rural Vulnerability, due to a combination of issues such as poor transport, lack of broadband low wages and higher than average house prices.
The affordability of rural housing to people from a range of ages and backgrounds is key concern for RSN.
The RSN works to encourage a thriving rural economy in order to help support our rural communities.
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