Rural Economy

My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Baroness, Lady Miller, for initiating this excellent debate. I want to remind the House that a rural economy relies on a sound economy in general. I pay tribute to the Government because the IMF, in its December 2005 report, says that the UK’s impressive record of macro-economic stability owes much to good macro-economic financial and structural policies, underpinned by a sound policy framework. Is there a problem? Yes, there is, but in certain pockets of the countryside. Roger Turner, a Countryside Agency economist, says that there are sometimes discrepancies between the perceived and the real problems in the countryside. Farming may well be in decline, but he goes on to say that in the broader view, including all types of businesses, not just rural businesses, the picture is very different. Indeed, according to the CRC’s State of the Countryside2005 report, many rural residents enjoy comparatively high levels of household income. We discovered how that same report describes these pockets. It argues that there are two rural Britains: one which is well off, in less sparse areas, associated with people who are commuting; and then a poorer rural Britain, often in sparse, peripheral areas of the United Kingdom, mostly on the fringes of towns or villages found in those remoter areas. We should be concerned about those areas because often they contain families with children living in real poverty. That is why we must do something. The Government’s policy should be twin-tracked, not only supporting shrinking industries such as farming. The Government have done so since the election, with the whole-farm approach, introducing innovative IT systems, cutting, apparently, £28 billion in red tape for farming. There is also their new farm business advisory service, funded by £7.5 million. The Government recognise that the farming industry may be shrinking, but it is important to try to give support. We should remind ourselves that at best farming provides only 4 per cent of work within the countryside. I want to ask my noble friend the Minister about other forms of support from the European Union, including the LEADER programme, which is the six-year programme for fostering partnerships of local organisations in the countryside. Will he give us a report on that, because it is an important initiative whereby we share best practice with our cousins elsewhere in the EU? As has been pointed out by the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, there has been a sea change—one might say a land change—in the way in which the economy is based in rural Britain. A clear example, subject to a recent report, was the prediction that within the next 10 years the rural traditional craft industries will provide more jobs than farming. How does my noble friend respond to that report and how can we encourage the resuscitation of such crafts? We should also adopt a policy of supporting other kinds of industries which are already with us. Despite what the noble Lord, Lord Cameron, said, tourism is important. It mirrors the profile of those in the countryside because it can reach the parts that others do not. The countryside often has a higher degree of SME formation, sometimes in the sparsest areas by 3:1 over their urban equivalents. Of course, there is home working, which is labour-intensive. There are many good examples of tourism flourishing. I consulted my local Visit Chester and Cheshire tourism board, which told me about some of the initiatives. One is supporting an enterprise called ““Spa and Pampering””—somehow, never has Cheshire seemed so exotic as when represented by that one! I was also pleased to learn that my old stamping ground of the agricultural college at Reaseheath now provides a business centre to advise those who seek change and promote business within the community. Another example by Visit Chester and Cheshire was the flourishing of the equestrian tourism industry. There is, for example, the stud farm for shire horses at Cotebrook, near Tarporley, which demonstrates the history of the shire horse and its use in the countryside. There are also other forms of equestrian tourism. I make a point about that because those concerned with the advent of the fox hunting ban believed that a perilous loss of employment in the countryside would be associated with it. As I thought might be the case, the reverse is true. Will my noble friend also consult the Forum of Private Business and the Federation of Small Businesses, both of which have produced excellent reports on how small businesses might be helped within the countryside? For instance, the Forum of Private Business talks about infrastructure. Examples are impoverished road networks, broadband availability, which has been mentioned today, and labour shortages, which can be dire. The noble Lord, Lord Brooke, mentioned the closure of post offices, which I believe, with thought, could be revived and provide centres for small businesses in particular in a variety of ways. The Federation of Small Businesses points to the national website which the Government have set up to help small businesses, but there is not a separate farming or countryside section, which would be a useful addition. Will my noble friend consider that? These areas are important. I want to conclude with one other form through which most of us townies receive knowledge of the countryside. It was set up after the war to help to promote understanding of the countryside, especially farming. It is the radio programme ““The Archers””. I consulted a great expert on the programme, my wife, and also my noble friend Lady Pitkeathley. They report to me that in some ways ““The Archers”” does not reflect modern Britain and modern business. Of course, there are many representations of farming, but far fewer representations of the small businesses which populate our rural areas, full of young entrepreneurs. The few examples of business and the use of IT are represented by Lynda Snell’s husband and some estate agent, whose name escapes me, who is part of the nouveau riche and is seen as a bit of a wide boy. I make these points because that is how the majority of us may receive our information about the countryside. It is time that we modernised that view in order to have a firm basis on which we can go forward and develop the industries, the prosperity and the jobs that people need in the countryside for a better Britain.