Countryside Alliance - love the countryside

The excessive regulations and paperwork required to run a rural business are one of the major concerns for rural businesses - in particular farmers. The Government must demonstrate to those affected that the benefits of any new regulations to which it signs up justify the costs and genuinely reflect the British public's priorities. Stakeholders should be consulted in advance to ensure that ensuring regulations are proportionate and workable. Any regulations instigated on the precautionary principle, for example on animal health and hygiene, need to be periodically reviewed. Proper ‘rural-proofing' of all EU and UK government regulations should help ensure that rural people and activities are not adversely affected by new legislation.

The Alliance has welcomed DEFRA's proposal to develop a strategy for the horse industry, which is worth over £3.4 billion, and employs 250, 00012 people directly and indirectly. The horse industry and horse-based activities not only contribute significantly to the social and economic fabric of the countryside, but also have a positive impact on the lives of people in towns and cities across the country.

The Countryside Agency's ‘State of the Countryside 2002' report notes that the superficially healthy employment statistics for rural areas give a flawed picture. The true unemployment rate is masked in rural areas by the presence of commuters and the outflow of young people, giving the impression that the rate is low. Studies also show that town-based employers tend to discriminate against rural dwellers, since they are feared to be less reliable due to poor transport in rural areas.

policy recommendations

• One -stop-shops providing access for business, employers and employees to services such as benefits, job advertisements, taxation and rates advice (including mobile One-Stop-Shops) must be encouraged.

• The Job Seeker’s Allowance should be reviewed to ensure it accounts for the seasonality of work in rural areas. This would help ensure that skilled people remained available for skilled work in season.

• The Government should continue to match European Objective funding schemes so as to allow rural areas to prosper in line with their urban counterparts.

• Government must consider fully the full diverse impact of EU directives on rural communities and make adequate representation to the EU to avoid directives being drafted which penalize rural communities.

• The UK Government should stop ‘gold-plating’ and anticipating EU regulations, to ensure that businesses in the UK are on a more level playing field with those in other EU countries.