Defra Secretary pledges to unleash rural opportunity

The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Thérèse Coffey MP, has today (Tuesday 6th June, 2023) announced a range of initiatives aimed at unlocking the potential within rural communities.

Speaking at the Future Countryside event, powered by The Countryside Alliance Foundation, Dr Coffey unveiled the Government’s Unleashing Rural Opportunity programme, which draws together existing and new work to drive job creation and growth in rural areas. Specific measures will fall under the plan’s four main themes of housing, communities, connectivity and growth. 

Measures on connectivity include a new consultation on telecommunications infrastructure to help remote rural communities get online; continuing progress within Project Gigabit to improve existing broadband and mobile phone coverage; and appointing a Rural Connectivity Champion, reporting to Defra and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to encourage investment in advanced wireless capacity. In the offline space too, the plan is expected to involve a new Future of Transport Rural Strategy and a consultation on reforming bus operator grant funding to help defend rural routes, bear down on costs and improve levels of service. 

Rural services fall under the spotlight of the plan’s theme of communities. These are set to include improvements to village halls funding and a new strategy for public libraries, with rural policing to benefit from increased funding for the new national rural crime unit and increased penalties for fly-tipping, with a consultation on ringfencing fines to fund further action to tackle it. A forthcoming Dental Plan is also expected to address difficulties in the recruitment and retention of rural dentists. Moving towards economic matters, meanwhile, we especially welcome news of a forthcoming consultation on funding for small local abattoirs, aimed at improving their productivity and welfare standards. 

The Countryside Alliance Foundation was pleased to welcome Dr Coffey to the Future Countryside event and is hopeful that the results of these initiatives will make a real difference to rural communities and lives.