A report by a committee of MPs said that it was 'not clear' how the Postal Services Bill would protect consumers in deprived urban, rural, and remote areas of Scotland. It expressed concern that the Bill neither made provision for the number of post offices nor set out the access criteria.
Source: Postal Services in Scotland, First Report (Session 2010-11), HC 669, House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee/TSO
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
A report examined the housing needs of older people in rural areas.
Source: Rural Housing, Older People and the Big Society, Housing Learning and Improvement Network/Department of Health
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Dec
A new book examined policing in rural areas.
Source: Rob Mawby and Richard Yarwood (eds.), Rural Policing and Policing the Rural: A Constable countryside?, Ashgate Publications
Links: Summary
Date: 2010-Dec
A report (by an official advisory body) examined the provision of affordable rural housing through the use of exception sites, section 106 agreements, and local land trusts. It said that there was a 'good and urgent case' to consider how these instruments could be made more effective.
Source: Improving the Effectiveness of Delivering Affordable Rural Housing: Section 106 agreements, rural exceptions sites and community land trusts, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Link removed
Date: 2010-Nov
The government published a statement on the future of the Post Office. It said that the Post Office was more than a commercial entity and served a distinct social purpose – consequently there would be no programme of post office closures. The government supported the expansion of accessible and affordable personal financial services available through the Post Office: but it rejected the idea of a state-backed Post Office bank on the basis that it would be 'time consuming and extremely expensive'.
Source: Securing the Post Office Network in the Digital Age, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Links: Statement | Hansard | DBIS press release | CCBS press release | Labour Party press release | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Nov
A paper said that children and young people living in the countryside faced isolation, poor housing, and inadequate transport links – among other problems.
Source: Child in the Countryside: A Challenging Reality, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Children & Young People Now report
Date: 2010-Oct
The Postal Services Bill was published, along with a government policy statement, and subsequently given a second reading. The Bill was designed to secure the futures of Royal Mail and the Post Office on a sustainable basis. The Royal Mail would be privatized, but the future of the universal postal service would be safeguarded at uniform prices and service levels. The Post Office would not be put up for sale, and an opportunity would be created for mutual ownership. There would be no further programme of post office closures.
Source: Postal Services Bill, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills/TSO | Delivering for the Future: A universal mail service and community post offices in the digital age, Cm 7946, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills/TSO | Debate 27 October 2010, columns 346-432, House of Commons Hansard/TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy Statement | Hansard (second reading) | DBIS press release (1) | DBIS press release (2) | DBIS press release (3) | Consumer Focus press release | Co-operatives UK press release | Liberal Democrats press release | BBC report
Date: 2010-Oct
A report examined the provision of extended services in small village schools. It looked at the experiences of those involved in delivery, together with perspectives from children, young people, families, and communities. It highlighted ways in which small and larger schools were working together to support young people; tackle poor educational achievement; enable families to access services; and help to transform communities.
Source: Small Schools, Big Communities: Village schools and extended services, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Report | Summary | Capacity press release
Date: 2010-Oct
An article examined the implications of the 2007-08 'Network Change' programme on the spatial configuration of post offices in Wales. National guidelines on the provision of post offices were not met in Wales.
Source: Mitchel Langford and Gary Higgs, 'Accessibility and public service provision: evaluating the impacts of the Post Office Network Change Programme in the UK', Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, Volume 35 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2010-Oct
An independent report (updating a report published in 2008) highlighted the continuing financial problems facing the Royal Mail. The government confirmed plans for legislation to sell or privatize the service.
Source: Richard Hooper, Saving the Royal Mail's Universal Postal Service in the Digital Age: An update of the 2008 Independent Review of the Postal Services Sector, Cm 7937, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills/TSO
Links: Report | DBIS press release | SNP press release | Personnel Today report | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2010-Sep
A report said that providing affordable housing on suitable rural sites created balanced communities, breathed fresh life into rural villages, and could help to ensure that local people could stay in their community whatever their age or circumstances.
Source: Brian Robson, Affordable Housing Keeps Villages Alive, National Housing Federation
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jul
A report by a committee of MSPs said that urgent action was needed to resolve serious shortcomings in the provision of out-of-hours healthcare in rural areas.
Source: Report on Out-of-Hours Healthcare Provision in Rural Areas, 4th Report 2010, SP Paper 421, Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee
Links: Report | Scottish Parliament press release | Nursing Times report
Date: 2010-Apr
A report examined the situation of children and young people living in rural areas – including population and migration, well-being and disadvantage, children's centres, and educational provision.
Source: State of the Countryside Update: Children and Educational Services, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Mar
A report (by an official advisory body) said that pilots in rural England to develop participatory budgeting had been a success – giving local people a say over local services that were otherwise distantly managed, and improving the quality of decision-making.
Source: The Experience of Participatory Budgeting in Rural England, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Report | CRC press release
Date: 2010-Feb
A policy statement by an official advisory body said that the costs of providing services reasonably and fairly to rural people and communities were significantly under-counted in many resource allocation systems (centrally, regionally, and locally).
Source: How Can Public Resources Be Fairly Allocated Between Different Places?, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Policy statement
Date: 2010-Feb
A report (by an official advisory body) said that recent levels of annual housing supply would not be sufficient to meet the projected levels of newly arising housing demand in rural areas.
Source: State of the Countryside Update: Housing Demand and Supply, Commission for Rural Communities/Countryside Agency
Links: Report | Liberal Democrats press release | Inside Housing report
Date: 2010-Feb
A study examined whether there were 'true' differences in educational attainment at key stages 3 and 4 between rural and urban areas, and the factors that particularly affected attainment in rural areas. Attainment among rural pupils was found to be virtually no different from that of urban pupils, after adjusting for social class.
Source: National Centre for Social Research, Educational Attainment in Rural Areas, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jan
A study examined the difference in education staying-on rates between rural and urban areas. Young people in rural dispersed areas and rural village areas were significantly more likely to participate in post-compulsory education than young people in urban areas.
Source: Andy Dickerson and Steven McIntosh, Post-16 Educational Choices in Rural Areas, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and Department for Children, Schools and Families
Links: Report
Date: 2010-Jan