England’s uplands have special significance for their contribution to rural economies and their key role in landscape conservation, recreational activities, biodiversity, heritage and water management.

Topics: uplands-inquiry uplands natural-england upland-communities state-of-the-countryside rural-advocate uplands-inquiry upland-communities uplands 

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 

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 

We've complied a dossier of evidence in response to the NHS Next Stage Review.

Topics: healthcare rural-advocate healthcare 

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 

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 

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 

'The Rural Citizen: governance, culture and wellbeing in the 21st century.'
University of Plymouth, 5-7 April 2006.

Dr Stuart Burgess, Rural Advocate, delivered a key note speech at th...

Topics: rural-advocate 

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 

Access to services for people living and working in rural areas is a key issue. A lack of mobility can cause real hardship...

Topics: access-to-services regeneration transport rural-services rural-places rural-advocate rural-places rural-services data access-to-services