Deep Rural Localities Using Evidence to Develop Rural Policy Lessons from the Welsh experience

1. Deep Rural Localities Using Evidence to Develop Rural Policy Lessons from the Welsh experience

2. Isolated communities experience issues with accessing a range of public and commercial services that are easily available to those in urban and less peripheral communities �One Wales� , the policy document of the coalition Government, gives a commitment to work with Local Authorities to identify and address the needs of these communities; Very little data specifically about isolated communities so commissioned the Wales Rural Observatory to undertake targeted research to explore the nature and extent of the issues surrounding service provision for the most remote communities from the perspective of both residents and service providers. This study is one of the most complex and detailed pieces of research work that the Assembly Government has commissioned in rural areas and gives an insight into a wide range of issues � I will only cover some today It is important to remember that the study explored the issues affecting four of the most remote and sparsely populated communities in rural Wales, i.e. it reflects the extreme situation

3. First agreed a definition of deep rural localities, namely: Communities with fewer than 1,000 households located at least 30 minutes drive time from a settlement with at least 10,000 residents Discussed this list with the Local Authorities most affected and agreed four study areas: Llyn Peninsula, North Pembrokeshire, North Powys, South Powys Next agreed a list of key services for communities: Food only shop, post office, petrol station, bank / building society, GP, dentist, pharmacy, education establishment, permanent library, police station , bus stop / railway station, cash machine Then cross referenced the pilot areas with the services to give a refined list of communities which had 5 or less of the services Finally identified those communities that were large enough to provide a sample large enough for data robustness but small enough to ensure research area was relevant, i.e. 180-500 households

5. Scoping visits including discussions with Community Council clerks and publicising the research within the community Household survey using house-to-house and drop-off techniques � generated 845 returns (51% response rate) Follow-on interviews to explore issues emerging from the survey in greater depth using an indicative sample based on age, gender, economic status, language, location - 60 interviews completed Focus groups with young people to explore what really mattered to them Survey of service providers using postal, email and web-based approaches � only 49 responses (20% response rate)

6. In all communities there was a high level of satisfaction (90%) with deep rural areas as places to live and 94% of respondents rated quality of life as �good� or �very good� Residents clearly understood the difficulties in providing services to their areas Residents prepared to accept lower levels of provision in exchange for quality of life and sense of community Of the survey sample: 55% �working-age� households; 39% �senior citizen� households; 6% �other� category. 23% of all residents surveyed had an annual household income of less than �10k; 6% earned less than �5k. �In-movers� among the highest earners in sample, while longer-term residents more likely to be on lower incomes. � of all respondents had savings of less than �1,000; only 7% had more than �100,000.

7. 53% of all respondents lived in local area for more than 20 years, but indications of high rates of inward-migration. High proportion of home-owners without mortgages (62%) with the Under-35s and low-income households (earning under �10k) more likely to live in rented accommodation. Common complaints concerned with lack of services / decline or closure of existing services. High degree of social contact with family, friends and neighbours in all study areas 3 out of every 5 respondents had more than 6 close friends or family members living within 5 mile radius.

8. Health Overall, 66% of respondents considered a general practitioner to be �essential� in their local area. In general, respondents tended to be satisfied or better with the provision of general practitioners. Ratings for the provision of hospitals showed a general trend towards dissatisfaction with 42% of respondents having to travel over 30 miles to a hospital. There was general dissatisfaction with the provision of dental surgeries.

9. ICT 74% of the total respondents [845] had a computer at home. 88% of households [623] with computers had access to the Internet. This represented 65% of the total households surveyed. There was a gap between demand and supply for Broadband services. 91% of respondents considered Broadband to be �Essential� or �Desirable� but only 51% of the total 845 respondents actually had Broadband. Teenagers and Service Providers echoed these views of the current standards of provision and emphasised that communication facilities were important for the future.

10. Transport 92% of respondents considered access to a car to be �essential�. Only 4% of total households did not have access to a vehicle. Multiple car ownership had a direct relationship with rising income. Relatively high proportions of respondents worked at or from home. Respondents who had moved to the study areas from outside of Wales were more likely to travel longer distances to work. Private vehicles were the primary mode of transport to work, transport children to school and to access services in general. Almost nobody used public transport to get to work. Frequent use of public transport was low, however weekly use of public transport was relatively high. In general, public transport was rated as poor.

11. General While policing was rated as generally �satisfactory�, more respondents rated policing as poor than good. 82% of respondents considered a Post Office to be �Essential�. Over one quarter [26%] of all respondents, in the over 65 age group, relied on help to access services. In one area this represents more than one in five people relying on help to access services. Local shops were well used although there was anecdotal evidence that they were expensive. Large proportions of respondents in all of the study communities made regular trips to shops further afield, such as supermarkets. 73% of respondents made these trips weekly. Service providers suggested the main factors that influenced the levels of service provision were related to finance and funding or the combination of low population densities and long distances between communities, and to urban centres.

12. Withdrawal of retail outlets and services Centralisation of services � need to plan better to deliver services to remote communities Limited provision of public transport and necessity of (multiple) car ownership High costs of living Variable quality of broadband and mobile phone coverage between and within study areas Power cuts Council Tax - questioning of its value for money given fewer services received compared with towns Sustainability Little affordable housing Declining levels of service provision challenging the sustainability of deep rural communities, e.g. Schools, shops, affordable housing, local employment opportunities Ageing communities - likely to be future problems for older people

13. The report�s findings provide the Government with a sound evidence base for a co-ordinated approach to the needs of deep rural areas and Cabinet have agreed to take immediate steps in three key areas: Improving the rural proofing of service commissioning and delivery Improving the integration of transport provision Improving ICT provision Improving the rural proofing of service commissioning and delivery Reviewing the internal Assembly Government rural proofing activities which have made a tangible contribution to promoting rural issues and ensuring rural needs are naturally considered as part of policy development, Working with external stakeholders, including the WLGA, WCVA and Local Authorities, in revising the rural proofing methodology for their use to develop a toolkit that can be used in the commissioning and delivery of the services they provide

14. Improving the integration of transport provision If we cannot physically provide the full range of services in every community then we must enable residents to travel or gain remote access to these services. Working across Assembly Government Departments and with Local Authorities, the Community Transport Association and other key stakeholders to develop four pilot projects that will look at ways of integrating public, community, voluntary and non-critical patient transport provision Initial scoping work has been undertaken in each of the study areas and we are in the process of working up an overall project specification that can then be tailored to meet the needs of each area. Also funding is available for community transport initiatives through Axes 3&4 of the Rural Development Plan.

15. Improving ICT provision Cross Assembly working to develop the ICT agenda and delivery. Recent announcements by the Deputy First Minister regarding potential additional resource for broadband infrastructure from the Convergence Programme, and changes in funding that could signify a new approach to intervention in the broadband market. 1.6m Euros of European funding available through Axis 3 of the Rural Development Plan Proposed that these funding sources will be used to deliver coherent support for the roll out of high-speed ICT infrastructure to not-spot areas � we are urgently exploring how to take this forward. Also exploring the possibility of bringing trials of next generation superfast broadband to rural Wales.