Peers push for fresh deals to stop rural area neglect

摘要

City Deals should be adapted and offered to 'ignored' rural areas, peers have said in a new report. The House of Lords Rural Economy Committee argued that local rural strategies akin to City Deals, including devolved decision-making and funding, should be developed to redress an imbalance in favour of metropolitan areas. Committee chair, Lord Foster of Bath, said: 'Rural communities and the economies in them have been ignored and underrated for too long. 'We must act now to reverse this trend, but we can no longer allow the clear inequalities between the urban and rural to continue unchecked.' The report also urged councils to adapt their procurement policies to ensure that small local organisations had opportunities to bid for contracts.