This project helps the Rural Advocate, Rev. Dr. Stuart Burgess, keep in touch with issues affecting rural communities, businesses and individuals, particularly those suffering disadvantage.

Topics: rural-advocate young-people commission fuel-poverty rural-governance transport rural-places major-life-events economic-wellbeing rural-economies 

Defining what we mean by a ‘rural area’ is a complicated and sometimes contentious issue...

Topics: strategic-analysis rural-urban-definitions data rural-urban-definition state-of-the-countryside 

We're managing a project to advise Government at all levels of the rural aspects of the fast-developing city-regions debate. We'll promote the evidence on connectivity and interdependencies of rura...

Another of our on-going work streams, this programme focuses particularly on the needs of rural areas suffering from economic under-performance and to seek employment-related solutions on skills, migrant workers and young people...

Topics: credit-crunch rural-economies rural economies empowerment recession commission migrant-workers rural-places financial-inclusion economic-wellbeing 

We're continuing our monitoring and support of rural proofing, working with government departments to encourage them to consider the rural impact of policies and learn from experience ‘on the ground’.

Topics: rural-proofing local-government rural-governance rural-advocate commission rural-councillors rural-economies participatory-budgeting 

To complement and support the work of the Rural Advocate and our independent watchdog responsibilities, we have brought together survey-based information on the perceptions and priorities of rural people.

Topics: rural-insights data disadvantage rural-advocate 

What's the future for rural communities in the context of changing demographic, environmental and land use pressures, including housing, planning and transport?

Topics: rural-places rural-proofing sustainable-communities affordable-housing planning credit-crunch recession rural-economies transport housing 

Rural proofing is a commitment by Government to ensure that all its domestic policies take account of rural circumstances and needs.

Topics: rural-proofing rural-places sustainable-communities local-government rural-governance planning rural-governance rural-councillors rural-proofing 

The Rural Services Standard (RSS) project is reviewing and reporting on the extent to which Government its meeting its RSS targets.

Topics: rural-services access-to-services 

'Promoting Fair Access to Services' will be a major area of our work on an on-going basis...

Topics: young-people access-to-services children-and-families rural-services education data jobs digital-inclusion