Poverty in the countryside revealed
Jul 16 2008 by Adrian Pearson, The Journal
A DECADE of Government policies aimed at tackling urban poverty has left parts of rural Northumberland and Durham among the most deprived in England.
The Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) produced a detailed look at living standards in the North East countryside which revealed some households are among the country’s worst paid and suffering from some of the highest levels of fuel poverty in England.
A Whitehall advisory board has now told Labour ministers the countryside has, at best, stood still in terms of improved living standards, and in some parts of the region it has got marginally worse since 2004.
The CRC is calling on the Government to recognise the unique difficulties faced by many rural households.
And they highlighted a series of damning facts which they say have been overlooked when creating policies designed to tackle poverty. For example, the CRC report revealed more than a quarter of households in rural parts of the North East have to travel more than 4km to get to a cash point.
Nicola Lloyd, analysis director at the CRC, said the Government had for too long overlooked rural needs.
She said: “Overall there has been a very slight increase in deprivation and the areas that are faring the worst are those villages and hamlets in parts of the North East.
“The Government has to adapt certain programmes to make them more useful to other parts of the country and not just the urban areas.
“An awful lot of work that is done focuses on problems of inner cities and looks at how to solve those and does not include the rural angle at all.
“We are trying to make sure that these rural communities are on the policy map.”
Stuart Burgess, head of the CRC, said the notion that rural England as a whole was better off than urban England “has continued to mask the significant levels of disadvantage that exist.”
Last night Berwick MP Sir Alan Beith said the report confirmed what many in Northumberland already knew.
Sir Alan said: "These figures come as no surprise and demonstrate how the reality of living in rural areas can be very different from the perception of country life, particularly with recent rises in fuel costs putting the poorest households under even more pressure.
“I am sure that the scrapping of school transport charges for post 16 students by the Liberal Democrats in Northumberland will help some households but the Labour government needs to think hard about the effect its national policies have on everyone in rural communities, as well as those in urban areas."
And Hexham MP Peter Atkinson said the report showed what had been obvious for 10 years. He said: “I have seen many attempts by this Government to introduce rural proofed policies and as far as I can see very few that have led to any real improvements. And what has improved has done so in spite of not because of the Government.”
A Northumberland County Council spokeswoman said: “Northumberland is one of the most rural counties in the UK, so the county council is keen to continue to do all it can to tackle the often complex issues concerning both rural and urban communities, many of which are mentioned in the State of the Countryside report.
“Helping rural communities access the things they need is a priority for us.”
A Defra spokesperson said: “We welcome the State of the Countryside reports as valuable contributions to our understanding of the ways in which rural areas are changing.
“We, along with other Government departments, will be reflecting on the contents of the latest report.”
IN NUMBERS...
THE Commission for Rural Communities report revealed that:
Only 74% of householders live within 4km of a bank or building society, compared to 99.8% in urban areas.
The proportion living within 4km of an NHS dentist is 78.8% (100% in urban areas).
And 77.3% live within 4km of a secondary school (compared with 100%).
And at just 18% Northumberland has one of the lowest proportions of degree students returning to live and work in the county.
The report found that wages in rural North East England continue to be low, levels of unemployment are among the country’s highest and levels of fuel poverty in some areas were among the highest in England.
'THEY THINK IT'S ALL GREEN WELLIES AND BARBOURS'
LIVING in the countryside causes severe financial difficulties and is not all about “green wellies and Barbour” jackets, a rural expert claimed last night.
Rachel Turnbull, social policy development officer for Northumberland’s Citizens Advice Bureaux, spoke out after the Commission for Rural Communities published its State of the Countryside 2008 report.
She said the report’s findings that some parts of the North East are among the country’s most deprived rang true with her own experience of dealing with people and their problems across Northumberland.
Mrs Turnbull has worked with a single mother who has no car, and who takes the day’s only bus to get her young child to nursery. She must then wait two and a half hours before walking the five miles home, due to lack of public transport.
She has also dealt with an ill elderly woman with an income of £57.50 per week, £35 of which she must spend on fuel. There is also a family of four, with the father a fisherman whose work is sporadic. His wife is ill but because he earns just over the relevant threshold, he cannot get her free prescriptions.
Another family of four spends a third of its income on food, a third on coal and a third on petrol to get to work and school. The children cannot afford treats or to go to leisure activities or on school trips.
Mrs Turnbull said: “So many people are not aware what it is like to live in the countryside. They think it is all green wellies and Barbours but it costs a lot of money.”
