WIREDGOV

At our recent Releasing the Potential of Rural Economies: Innovation summit, Hilary Benn spoke of his continuing commitment to working with us to support rural communities.

His speech highlighted the role of rural proofing in ensuring that the three tiers of government take into account the needs of rural communities. Rural proofing policy is a key way in which government departments and agencies can ‘take the right decisions for the future, to help rural areas prosper’.

We're now working with Defra on a joint conference in May this year, where Minister Huw Irranca-Davis and Stuart Burgess, our chair and the Government's Rural Advocate, will re-launch the rural proofing tools that we believe are the key to ensuring that government policies are relevant to rural communities.

‘Thinking rural’ means accepting that geography can change the impact of a policy. Often it only takes a small amendment or addition to take account of that difference in policy making.

Read our full statement welcoming Hilary Benn's commitment

Find out more about Rural Proofing

Find out more about our joint conference in May and register for your place