As part of our work on digital inclusion we were tasked with providing a rural perspective to the government's Digital Britain report. Our report 'Mind the Gap: Digital England - a rural perspective' raised the rural issues surrounding digital inclusion and highlighted recommendations for Lord Carter’s final Digital Britain report...

Topics: digital-inclusion rural-services digital-inclusion rural-experience broadband-and-ict 

The Rural Social Justice Coalition is a group of national organisations working to improve life for the most disadvantaged people in rural areas.

Topics: rural-services access-to-services social-justice rsjc rsjc social-justice 

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 

In 2006, we commissioned a survey of rural dentists, carried out by the British Dental Association. The survey identified issues of concern and some alternative approaches to providing NHS dental services in rural areas and meeting the needs of rural communities...

Topics: rural-services dental-services rural-services healthcare access-to-services 

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

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

Service availability and accessibility has been a key rural policy issue for many years. In order to monitor changing levels of service availability, we combine datasets that show where outlets of particular services can be found, with postcode level information on the distribution of households.

Topics: data rural-services rural-services data access-to-services access-to-services 

We're pleased the Government has recognised the important social and economic role of post offices...

Topics: rural-services access-to-services post-offices 

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 

During 2006 we commissioned some research in the West Midlands to follow up the findings of the earlier report which raised concerns about the lower number of rural young people in the West Midlands taking up further education and training opportunities..

Topics: young-people access-to-services children-and-families rural-governance rural-services rural-advocate education