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Rural Communities (Recession)

I shall make some progress, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind. In the long term, we need to ensure that rural communities are vibrant and viable. That means ensuring that there is access to local services, and providing affordable housing. The present Government's record on rural services is lamentable. Hundreds of small rural schools have closed over the past decade, despite Labour's promise to keep them open. As the Minister knows only too well, 1,400 rural communities have lost their post offices since 2000. Two thousand local shops are closing every year, and, according to one estimate, 42 per cent. of small English towns and villages no longer have a shop of any kind. The beer duty increase in the Budget has further damaged a fragile sector and we are seeing rural pubs closing at the rate of two a day. The average annual wage in the most rural areas is £7,000 lower than it is in the most urban areas, but the average price of a home for first-time buyers is £16,000 more. There is clearly an urgent need for affordable rural housing, but Labour's top-down housing targets have failed to deliver. We need to reverse the trend of centralisation and end the years of thoughtless Whitehall diktat so that the needs of rural communities are respected. We will allow towns and villages to create local housing trusts to build new housing to benefit their communities. Provided that there is strong local support, those bodies will have the power to develop new homes without the burdens of the regional planning system. Three years ago, Members on both of the House supported the Bill that became the Sustainable Communities Act 2007, which requires central Government to make clear how much money they spend on local services in each area and gives councils and communities a far greater say in how that money is spent. The Government agreed that reports on public spending under the Act would include quangos, but Ministers are now backtracking on that pledge, which is unacceptable. The public want more influence over decision-making, and that means more information. It is time to go further and return real power and decision-making to individuals and communities wherever possible, so that people have a genuine say in the matters that affect them locally. This Government have been obsessed with regional government, and a plethora of quangos are now ruling rural areas and disbursing funds without local accountability. We will allow councils to establish their own local enterprise partnerships to take over the economic development functions and funding of the regional development agencies. If power is devolved and decisions are taken as close as possible to the people they affect, the social value of rural services, as well as their economic value, will be appreciated. Above all, people in rural communities would be reconnected with decision making at a time when politics in Westminster has never been more remote from the people. This Government have presided over a decade of disrespect for rural communities. They have ignored local concerns and imposed national policies regardless of their impact. It is time for a different approach. Of course rural areas deserve fair treatment, but it is not just a question of fairness. All parts of the country are suffering in the recession, and the rural economy could be a great national resource for the future. It could help to deliver jobs from growth in small businesses and new sustainable forms of working, but making that happen will require a Government who understand rural areas and are willing to listen, and a Government who respect rural communities and are ready to trust and empower them. As I am afraid the Secretary of State has demonstrated by his absence from this debate today, that leadership will not come from this tired and discredited Government.