The CRC are encouraging decision makers to explore and adopt a perspective on economic well-being for rural areas that is wider than traditional economic policies which focus on GDP-led economic growth.

Topics: economic-wellbeing rural-economies rural-economies economic-wellbeing economics 

We're building on the work of the Countryside Agency to promote and support enterprise among disadvantaged and hard-to-reach communities e.g. women, young people and students, and homeworkers.

Topics: home-working rural-economies best-practice enterprise planning 

We're investigating Financial Disadvantage, examining the delivery in rural areas of one or more of the benefits/tax credits system, the National Minimum Wage and initiatives to assist with banking/credit/debt.

Topics: fuel-poverty financial-inclusion children-and-families disadvantage social-inclusion 

Financial exclusion is a real challenge in rural areas. Financially excluded people living in rural areas are less visible and more difficult to reach than those in urban areas.

Topics: financial credit-union financial-inclusion post-offices social-exclusion financial-poverty fuel-poverty financial-inclusion state-of-the-countryside rural-economies 

Our work on financial poverty links to our work on financial disadvantage, and builds on the findings of our disadvantage study.

Topics: rural-advocate fuel-poverty children-and-families training skills financial-inclusion disadvantage disadvantage 

We've been investigating whether the benefits from increased expenditure and investment in the NHS have reached people in rural England in an equitable way, in proportion to their needs and expectations...

Topics: access-to-services rural-services dental-services care-and-support healthcare post-offices crime-and-policing major-life-events rural-advocate best-practice 

Housing in rural areas, and particularly the availability of affordable housing, is a critical issue, and a key issue for the CRC.

Topics: state-of-the-countryside housing rural-communities rural-economies commission rural-places affordable-housing recession rural-experience sustainable-communities 

This area provides concise and simple answers to some of the questions we're asked on a regular basis..

Our work on Major Life Events provides compelling evidence from rural people about the challenges of using and delivering specific services in rural areas. We have focused on investigating both the experiences of service users and also the work of service providers in order to reveal what it is like to live in rural England. The aim of our work is to understand more about the challenges and thereby help to stimulate and inform better service provision for people living in rural areas.

Topics: rural-advocate rural-health major-life-events healthcare jobs rural-services rural-services major-life-events access-to-services access-to-services 

This project looked at the challenges posed by migrant workers to service providers and others, as well as the contributions which migrant workers make to local rural economies.

Topics: migrant-workers rural-economies rural-communities best-practice