The All-Party Group on Rural Services has been formed at the initiative of 65 members of both Houses looking to champion the delivery of services in rural services, such as post offices, village schools and community hospitals.
The Group held its inaugural meeting this week, and has elected the following officers:
Chair: | Philip Dunne MP (Conservative) |
Vice Chair: | David Drew MP (Labour) |
Vice Chair: | Dan Rogerson MP (Liberal Democrat) |
Secretary: | Baroness Byford (Conservative) |
The group identified a series of issues it wished to address as part of its work programme. These include:
- the funding formulae used by government to allocate money for rural services and the additional cost of providing services in the countryside
- fuel poverty
- the future of the post office network
- banks and banking services
- transport and access to services, impact of road-pricing on rural communities
- health service provision, including specialist services
- fire and emergency services in remote areas
- policing the countryside and;
- affordable housing
The group will, as a first step, inquire into and produce a report on the future of rural post offices, to include positive recommendations to encourage their viability.
The group will be supported in its work by SPARSE, an organization that represents nearly sixty of England's most rural local authorities, and the Rural Services Partnership which represents the concerns and issues surrounding the provision of rural services in England.
Commenting on the formation of the group, its newly elected Chairman, Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow, said:
'This is an important time for the countryside, with the Government planning to close 2,500 post office, threats to community hospitals in rural areas and government funding formulae for local authorities favoring urban over rural areas.
'We will not be a talking shop, but a group with a clear commitment to recommend action on the issues that count in rural communities.
'I welcome the launch of this important All Party Parliamentary Group on Rural Services. I want to thank my colleagues Baroness Byford, Baroness Miller and David Drew MP for their work in getting it off the ground.
'I look forward to working with parliamentary colleagues on all sides of both Houses to secure a fair deal for those who live in rural areas.'
