Welcome to the April grass e-route.

'The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking people living and working in rural areas to contribute to a fact-finding study into the challenges facing consumers and businesses in remote communities across the UK. The OFT writes:

"As Alliance members will know, the prices of many goods and services are frequently higher in remote communities, there can be fewer suppliers available, and access to key services such as shops, dentists, chemists, banks and public transport can be limited. Fuel prices are a common cause for concern for those who need to travel long distances to get to school, to work or to the shops. And whilst shopping online may expand opportunities for broader choice and quality, deliveries to more isolated areas can sometimes be problematic or costly. The OFT is seeking to explore these and other issues with communities and businesses in remote areas, with the aim of improving its, and others', understanding of how consumer or competition law can help tackle them."

We encourage CA members and supporters to contribute to the study by sending their views before 20 April to the OFT Office in Scotland, 23 Walker Street, Edinburgh EH3 7HX, filling in an online form at www.oft.gov.uk/remcom, or emailing remotecommunities@oft.gsi.gov.uk

Please copy the Countryside Alliance into your responses as we are always keen to boost our campaigning work with case studies. Please email your thoughts to policy@countryside-alliance.org

The Spring 2012 membership magazine is now available to read online. This is a packed issue containing an exclusive article by the Prime Minister on his love of the countryside and his determination to protect it. We also examine her Majesty the Queen's love of the countryside on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee, reveal the results of our National Shoot Survey, praise the fell hound and bring you seasonal sporting tips and a game recipe. This issue also contains our Annual Report which for the first time forms a part of the magazine itself instead of a separate document.

Take part in the Hunting under the Act photographic competition, which has been launched to mark the seventh anniversary of the Hunting Act. We are inviting all amateur photographers who support hunting to send in their hunting shots, taken since the Act came into force, for the chance for their photograph to grace the cover of our Autumn magazine – which goes out to over 105,000 people. 

National Shooting Week will run from the 2nd-10th June. The weeklong event is aimed at people who have never experienced shooting before. During the week, participating shooting grounds and clubs give taster lessons to complete beginners who would like to give shooting a try.