Staffordshire has its say on new report to Prime Minister on realities of rural England

Staffordshire has played a major role in a new report launched today to the Prime Minister, detailing the realities of life in rural England.

Dr Stuart Burgess, the government's Rural Advocate, spent three days in the County as a guest of MP David Kidney and used the visit to help influence his findings on the aspirations, experiences and concerns of people living in rural areas.

The issue of affordable housing was high on the agenda, not to mention topics around land use, the post office network and getting new initiatives to work with communities at their own speed.

He also heard how the internet is bringing previously unseen opportunities to the economy and how exciting new ventures, such as Bio-fuels, should be receiving more support in terms of tax breaks so that we don't end up importing products we could produce ourselves.

Dr Burgess commented: "My time in Staffordshire was invaluable and re-affirmed a number of issues that feature prominently in my findings, including the themes of affordable housing, support to farmers and the need for sound education from grassroots level all the way to the top.

"I was also very impressed with the enthusiasm and creativity shown by senior staff and governors at Rodbaston College, particularly their range of initiatives, such as the Foundation Degree in rural and community policing, their national fencing academy and their work in linking 320 farmers together through Staffordshire Food."

He went on to add: "It was suggested that they could be a conduit for grassroots rural thinking into the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) and this something that we will undoubtedly explore."