A study examined the impact of ageing populations on service design and delivery in rural areas in England. The final report said that rural areas faced a range of additional costs for service delivery that made it more difficult for service providers, including health services, to meet needs. It said that there was insufficient appropriate housing stock, and demand for more home-based care, support and adaptations.
Source: Caitlin Connors, Marita Kenrick, Anna Bloch, Sally-Marie Bamford, and Dylan Kneale, 2013 Rural Ageing Research: Summary report of findings, TNS BMRB
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the debates surrounding the closure of police stations in the United Kingdom between 2007 and 2012, by examining the statistics as reported in the press. It discussed the narratives of the debate and drew conclusions about the impact of station closures on rural policing and rural crime.
Source: Robert Smith and Peter Somerville, 'The long goodbye: a note on the closure of rural police-stations and the decline of rural policing in Britain', Policing, Volume 7 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
An article examined the 'modernization' of services for older people in rural areas in England and Wales. In England, where there had been a commitment to a 'customer citizen', policy at the local level had emphasized re-enablement, community development, and individual responsibility. In Wales, where modernization had focused on collaboration and citizenship, local policies had focused on service users, and on engagement with the voluntary sector.
Source: Shane Doheny and Paul Milbourne, 'Modernization and devolution: delivering services for older people in rural areas of England and Wales', Social Policy and Administration, Volume 47 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A report by a committee of MPs said that the programme for extending broadband internet services to rural areas had been mishandled by civil servants. The contractor, BT, had submitted a wildly inaccurate business case, and had been allowed to exploit its effective monopoly position to the detriment of taxpayers.
Source: The Rural Broadband Programme, Twenty-fourth Report (Session 2013-14), HC 474, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO
Links: Report | Written evidence | Committee press release | ACRE press release | CLA press release | Countryside Alliance press release | Guardian report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Sep
An audit report said that the coalition government's roll-out of 'superfast' broadband to rural areas was about two years behind its original schedule.
Source: The Rural Broadband Programme, HC 535 (Session 2013-14), National Audit Office, TSO
Links: Report | NAO press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Jul