RSN is the national champion for rural services, ensuring that people in rural areas have a strong voice. We are fighting for a fair deal for rural communities to maintain their social and economic viability for the benefit of the nation as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u2022 Public Sector Funding
\u2022 Barriers to Access
\u2022 Future of Rural Areas
\u2022 Health and Wellbeing<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rural Vulnerability has also been recognised as a cross cutting issue that affects all of our priorities.
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Central Government has historically and systematically underfunded \nrural areas giving them less grant per head than urban areas \u2013 despite \nthe fact that it costs more to provide the services. Rural residents \nearn less on average than those in urban areas and pay more Council Tax \nfor fewer local government services. Government policy, implicitly, is \nthat council services in rural areas are more reliant on funding through\n council tax than their urban counterparts. We demand fairer funding for\n all public services serving rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rural residents and businesses face multiple barriers in terms of \naccess to key services, including transport and broadband. Yet councils \nproviding services to rural residents receive less money from \ngovernment, pay disproportionately more for fewer services and typically\n earn less than people in urban areas. As a result rural residents \nsuffer multiple disadvantages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rural communities contribute a great deal to the national economy but\n are facing threats to their future. This is due to a combination of \nchronic underfunding, demographic challenges, diminishing resources, \nwith the needs of rural areas being systematically overlooked. Without \naction, conditions in rural areas will deteriorate further. It is in the\n national interest that we all work together to revitalise this \nfundamental national asset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All communities can face issues in relation to low wages, poor access\n to health services, poor transport options and difficulties in \naccessing training and educational opportunities however in rural areas,\n due to its often remote location, these issues can become compounded, \nleading to Rural Vulnerability.
Rural areas have a higher than \naverage number of older residents and this figure is increasing rapidly.\n Public services need to work together to combat the issues relating to \nRural Vulnerability to ensure that rural residents are not left \ndisadvantaged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite its idyllic image, rural communities often experience \ndifficulties in accessing health and support services. This is becoming \nincreasingly difficult as specialist services are centralised to remain \nresilient and poor transport links reduce access. There are recruitment \nand retention issues amongst medical staff in rural areas. Rural \nresidents are therefore vulnerable to isolation and poorer health \noutcomes in the long term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n