PRESENTATION TO THE HAMPSHIRE COMMISSION: GRAHAM BIGGS CHIEF EXECUTIVE RURAL SERVICES NETWORK CHIEF
THE CHALLENGES FACING RURAL AREAS
NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL Rural areas are varied in type and character. They include – among others – remote and upland communities, coastal settlements, commuter belt villages and former mining settlements. Indeed, they often vary within a single local authority area. Policies ought to be flexible in their design and delivery, if they are to meet the needs of such diverse places. There are, however, a number of policy challenges which are common to most rural places and which are frequently inter- connected.
COMMON POLICY CHALLENGES ➢ Ageing ➢ Living Costs ➢ Infrastructure ➢ Accessibility/Mobility ➢ Delivery Costs ➢ Perception
COULD ADD ➢ High average household incomes ➢ Low Incomes earned in the rural economy ➢ Numbers of SME’s and Self Employed ➢ Low Expectations? ➢ Outflow of young people ➢ Resilience and strength of Community Support ➢ Volunteer overload
JOBS IN RURAL AREAS ▪ Historical importance of land-based industries BUT sectoral structures of employment have become more similar over time in rural and urban areas ▪ Producer services under-represented in rural areas ▪ Occupational structures less diverse – particularly in remoter rural areas ▪ Proportionately more small businesses in rural areas, but average turnover per person employed is greater in urban areas ▪ Higher incidence of self-employment positively and strongly correlates with business creation and innovation in urban areas but not in rural areas
Rural and urban labour markets Common features Distinctive features of rural ▪ ▪ Older than average population – Convergence in employment structures in implications for ‘replacement rural and urban areas demand’ ▪ ▪ Selective out-migration of more Common trends: - professionalisation qualified young people - polarisation ▪ Establishment profile (skewed ▪ Opportunities from ICT towards small employers) , sparsely (information & communications distributed populations, technologies) transport issues pose difficulties ▪ Diversity within categories in delivering training
Labour supply – migration ▪ Migration plays a key role in national and sub-national well- being – it has effects on socio-economic & demographic change ▪ International migrant labour has become a structural part of many rural labour markets – beyond seasonal labour ▪ Broadening of destinations of international migrants from 2004 ▪ Important role of international migrant labour in high-skilled labour markets – notably in the NHS ▪ Unattractiveness of remote rural areas for dual career households
Introduction – rural and urban labour markets Common features Distinctive features of rural ▪ ▪ Older than average population – Convergence in employment structures in implications for ‘replacement rural and urban areas demand’ ▪ ▪ Selective out-migration of more Common trends: - professionalisation qualified young people - polarisation ▪ Establishment profile (skewed ▪ Opportunities from ICT towards small employers) , sparsely (information & communications distributed populations, technologies) transport issues pose difficulties ▪ Diversity within categories in delivering training
Access to employment – job seekers ▪ Challenges facing job seekers in rural areas: - relative lack of high- level jobs (‘thin’ labour market) - limited opportunities for broadening experience - limited public transport services for travel to employment and to training ▪ Lower staff turnover than in urban areas (excluding seasonal jobs) ▪ Rural residents more reliant on social networks for seeking work than urban residents – those without strong social networks are particularly disadvantaged
POSSIBLE IMPACT OF MECHANISATION: SHROPSHIRE Current Current Mean Probability of Aggregate # at risk of Employment Employment% %Automation Numbers at risk Automation (OECD) % automation (OECD) Numbers (Bank of Eng) of automation 60,700 40.40 22.29 13,528 37.31 22,645 Soc 2010 Major Group 1-3 Managers, Directors And Senior Officials 17.00 3,094 30.00 6,067 18,200 12.10 13.00 2,886 37.00 8,214 Professional Occupations 22,200 14.70 37.00 7,548 41.00 8,364 Associate Professional & Technical 20,400 13.50 Soc 2010 Major Group 4-5 35,100 23.30 63.44 22,266 49.30 17,304 Administrative & Secretarial 42.00 5,166 48.00 5,904 12,300 8.20 75.00 17,100 50.00 11,400 22,800 15.10 Skilled Trades Occupations 24,600 16.40 74.20 18,252 46.62 11,469 Soc 2010 Major Group 6-7 Caring, Leisure And Other Service 75.00 11,025 43.00 6,321 Occupations 14,700 9.80 73.00 7,227 52.00 5,148 Sales And Customer Service Occs 9,900 6.60 30,100 20.00 66.20 19,926 56.83 17,106 Soc 2010 Major Group 8-9 75.00 7,650 59.00 6,018 10,200 6.80 Elementary Occupations
Nationally Seven key topic areas 1. A thriving rural economy 2. A digitally connected countryside 3. A place everyone can get around 4. An affordable place to live 5. A fair deal on health and social care 6. A settlement to support local action 7. A rural-proofed policy framework
A THRIVING RURAL ECONOMY • The rural challenge • Reducing the productivity gap; • Helping rural businesses (especially SMEs) to grow locally; • Supporting further diversification, especially into high value-added sectors; • Sustaining high streets and their businesses in rural towns; and • Creating better paid and more secure jobs.
A DIGITALLY CONNECTED COUNTRYSIDE The rural challenge • Extending broadband networks to those premises still missing out; • Future proofing broadband policy, so rural areas do not fall behind again • Capitalising on the benefits from the roll out of superfast networks; • Addressing issues with mobile network coverage (including 4G).
A PLACE EVERYONE CAN GET AROUND • The rural challenge • Reversing the widespread decline in rural bus service provision; • Making bus services a more attractive option for rural travellers; • Providing sustained support for complementary community transport schemes; • Ensuring future transport innovations will benefit rural communities.
AN AFFORDABLE PLACE TO LIVE • The rural challenge • Bringing forward development sites at a price suited to affordable housing; • Making sure such homes are and remain genuinely affordable; • Planning new housing in ways which attract community support; • Ensuring the funding model for affordable house building adds up.
A FAIR DEAL ON HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE • The rural challenge • Ensuring that patients can get to secondary and tertiary health services; • Delivering quality primary health care locally within rural settings; • Making sure social care reaches those who need it in remote locations; • Benefitting rural clients through improved health and social care integration. • Staff recruitment and retention in rural areas
A PLACE TO LEARN AND GROW • The rural challenge • Sustaining schools with small (or fluctuating) pupil numbers; • Managing school budgets when operating costs are high; • Recruiting and retaining teaching and support staff; • Finding appropriate models for school collaboration.
A SETTLEMENT TO SUPPORT LOCAL ACTION • The rural challenge • Ensuring that local authorities retain the capacity to serve their rural communities; • Boosting the capacity of parish and town councils to bring about local solutions; • Recruiting and retaining volunteers with sufficient time and the right skills; • Providing the support infrastructure to facilitate community action in more areas.
DELIVERING RURAL RENNAISANCE TO BE SUCCESSFUL A STRATEGY MUST BE: ➢ Respectful and understanding of the past and the journey to date but based on the realities of now and into the future ➢ Locally Defined and Agreed by the Council and its Partners ➢ Locally Agreed and endorsed by the rural communities
DELIVERING RURAL RENNAISANCE TO BE SUCCESSFUL A STRATEGY MUST BE: ➢ Properly resourced ➢ Delivered locally and in partnership based upon the needs of different areas ➢ Stuck to be flexible enough to respond to changing needs, circumstances and opportunities
QUESTIONS? BE GENTLE WITH ME!!!!!!
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