Post Offices
Building a mutual post office (Department for Business Innovation & Skills, December 2011)
ACRE's response welcomed the model of mixed mutualisation proposed by the Government but had some concerns about the stated assurances in respect of access to the network for rural communities. ACRE wrote an earlier Briefing setting out the details of the Government's proposal to mutualise.
Consultation on Post Office Banking (Department for Business Innovation & Skills, February 2010)
ACRE's response to post office banking consultation followed input from RCAN members. Post banking proposals were strongly advocated in last year’s BERR Select Committee report on the future of the post office network above. ‘ACRE welcomes the opportunity to respond to the consultation proposals for post office banking and is pleased that the Government is considering ways to develop and extend the products and services that the Network provides. We hope that this is one way to secure its future as a fundamental service in rural communities’.
Consultation on the future of the Post Office Network (Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform, December 2008)
The Business and Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (or BERR) Select Committee requested evidence about how the post office network could be secured into the foreseeable future. ACRE's response submission on behalf of the RCAN Network, many of whose members also made individual responses both as RCAN members or regional bodies. This was made following the post office closure programme that was widely and actively opposed across RCAN.
Currently the post office is subsidised by £150 million per year and BERR’s inquiry wanted answers to how a comprehensive post office network could be insured for the benefit of the public. The evidence requested included which services the post office should provide and the level of subsidy that it needs.
ACRE welcomed the opportunity to submit evidence. We made a call for increased diversification of post office services, stressing the potential for the network to extend its banking services. We also emphasised that many post offices in rural areas might need ongoing subsidy in order to provide essential services to local communities.
Learning & Education
Review of Informal Adult and Community Learning (Dept for Business Innovation & Skills, October 2011)
This is part of the implementation of the reform of the further education reform programme concerned with adult and community learning . You can read ACRE's response that advocates for solutions developed with rural communities and providers Themselves, offer good equitable access to courses for rural communities and making use of local venues specifically village halls, which already host many successful learning opportunities.
Revised Early Years Foundation Stage (Department of Education, October 2011)
ACREs response to this consultation echoes that of Action in rural Sussex. ACRE and AirS response highlights a number of key points that arise mainly where an early year service is operated from a community building like a village hall that has multiple purposes and different users. This situation, common in rural areas, raises distinct challenges for both the childcare provider and the community hall including welfare and health and safety and helps to inform this consultation.
Pubs
Charges for playing recorded music (PPL, September 2011)
PPL is reviewing the charges made to venues playing recorded music at public events. The proposed rise in charges is very steep and we are concerned about the impact on rural and community pubs. ACRE has written to the Minister responsible for Community Pubs, Bob Neill MP and submitted its response to the body responsible, PPL. Village halls are excluded from the proposed list
Rail
High Speed Rail: Investing in Britain's Future (Department for Transport, July 2011)
This long running consultation on High Speed Rail closed at the end of July 2011 and was quite specific in focus, having only seven questions. The questions emphasised the overall high speed rail strategy with economic growth as a key driver and the proposed line's route from London to Birmingham (often referred to as HS2), which is planned to pass through a number of RCAN member’s areas.
The Government's position is strongly for high speed rail, stating a new network, with average speeds of 225 miles per hour, would cut journey times, improve reliability, ease overcrowding and ‘transform the country’s economic geography’ alongside creating potentially 40,000 jobs. The Government expects the project to be ‘broadly carbon neutral’ and deliver highly significant returns on investment and other non-monetary benefits.
ACRE can see potential benefits nationally but feels less are likely to accrue for rural communities and we questioned whether all of the issues have been fully evaluated. Read ACRE's response
