The ACRE Network rural manifesto for the 2015 General Election

The Community Council for Berkshire is calling on the next Government to deliver a fair deal for rural communities in the ACRE Network’s newly launched 2015 manifesto.

CCB, a member of ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), is urging politicians to improve health, wealth and access for the millions of people who live in the countryside.

The manifesto sets out the ACRE Network’s 12 key asks in the run-up to the General Election on May 7. The pleas are based on the intelligence ACRE collects from its nationwide Network of 38 rural community councils, which reaches 52,000 grassroots organisation.

The ACRE Network is calling for:
• An urgent review of the criteria for Non-Emergency Patient Transport to address discrimination faced by rural residents.
• The Minimum Practice Income Guarantee for rural GP surgeries to be reinstated.
• A review of the rural delivery of the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) energy efficiency programme.
• A review of the advice and support available for communities who want to set up renewable energy schemes
• The LEADER funding programme to benefit as many communities across rural England as possible.
• A fair share for rural areas of the funding available to Local Enterprise Partnerships.
• Withdrawal of the ‘bedroom tax’ on properties in rural communities with a population under 3,000.
• A commitment to provide a proportion of affordable housing on all rural developments.
• Investment in alternative broadband solutions for communities not covered by the national rollout.
• Investment on more ‘on the ground’ support for rural communities to develop social enterprise solutions for the services they lack
• Investment in recruiting and training volunteers, especially younger drivers, for community transport schemes.
• A review of concessionary bus travel in rural areas to balance the needs of users and providers.

CCB Chief Officer Tim Parry said: “Through our work with communities, we have a deep understanding of how Government policy affects the 20% of the population who live in the countryside. Politicians need to listen to and act upon the problems faced by rural people, from the struggles older people face to get to health appointments to the urgent need for more affordable rural housing. We urge the next Government to rise to the challenge and deliver a fair deal for rural communities.”

The full manifesto is available at the ACRE website: 
http://www.acre.org.uk/our-work/our-manifesto