3.1 Overview of Social Issues
Summary and Key Issues
The region has a growing rural population, but at the same time significant changes are occurring in the age structure. There is an increasing ageing and retired population in many rural areas. There has been a considerable out-migration of young people (16-24 years old) associated with a lack of employment opportunities and affordable housing. This increases the dependence on certain types of services and depresses the demand for others.
The rural economy is dominated by male full-time employment, with a disproportionately large share of employment in agriculture, mining and a number of manufacturing industries - all of which are expected to decline in terms of employment. The male workforce will continue to decline, especially amongst the youngest and the oldest in the workforce.
The female workforce will increase, although women continue to face significant constraints to employment opportunities. Young people and women should be encouraged to remain in the agricultural industry and these categories amongst other new entrants require opportunities to enter the industry. The changing age and gender composition of the workforce will have significant implications for both local employers and the provision of support services.
The rural economy has a disproportionately small share of employment in business services and retailing. Recent rapid growth in business services and leisure/arts provides significant >employment opportunities. Substantial growth is expected in part-time employment, particularly amongst women. However, it is likely that a high proportion of this growth will be in relatively low-paid jobs.
These changes in industrial and employment structure will have a serious impact on those areas whose economies are least diversified and dynamic. Areas which have already experienced increased economic activity and are adapting to change are, however, set to benefit further.
Self-employment remains high in rural areas, with a high proportion of individuals working from home. Self-employment is an important source of potential employment growth. There is some scope for expansion in many remote rural areas, particularly through business diversification and tourism-related industries.
Educational achievement at GCSE and A level is significantly higher in the region's rural schools compared to their urban counterparts. A higher proportion of young people from rural areas go into higher and further education. A lack of higher and further education opportunities in rural settlements means that talented young people leave rural areas to study and often fail to return on completion of their studies as a consequence of a shortage of suitable job opportunities and affordable housing.
The uptake of work-based training is often lower in rural areas than in urban. The distance between the potential trainees and the point of delivery of training services is a major disadvantage. There is also a greater prevalence of small firms in rural areas. Small firms are less likely than larger ones to be aware of or able to identify training needs, to be able to provide them in-house, or to be able to afford to release staff for external training. Greater access to training and business support services should be developed, particularly for small businesses, which are crucial to rural economies.
There are significant numbers of people with low incomes and low standards of living. Although the region's rural areas have a higher proportion of people in the higher socio-economic groups than in urban areas, low pay is also more common. Rural areas have high levels of part-time working in agriculture, leisure and tourism, which helps to lower average earnings. Low incomes, together with a shortage of affordable housing, have wider repercussions for the maintenance of viable and balanced rural communities.
A shortage of rented accommodation, high house prices and low incomes have together made it difficult for many local people to find homes they can afford within their rural communities. Affluent, in-migrants and a high incidence of second home ownership enhance demand and push up house prices, often beyond the reach of local people. There is a higher incidence of owner-occupied households in remote rural districts in comparison to the region as a whole. The proportion of properties for rent from local authorities in rural areas has traditionally been smaller than is the case for urban areas. Young people experience most difficulties in finding suitable housing, contributing to the process of out-migration of an important source of labour for the rural economy.
Many rural communities have poor access to a range of services, particularly those in the more sparsely populated and remote parts of the region. Many key rural services are declining at a rate above the national average within the region. The level of decline varies across the region, with metropolitan authorities enjoying higher levels of public transport services than for example, rural North Yorkshire. However, the overall picture is certainly one of a continued and steady decline. A range of capacity building activities, such as those developed by LEADER II and Rural Community Councils, have demonstrated their value for community empowerment and development. This highlights the need to develop small rural towns as service 'hubs' for rural areas and the opportunities for multi-functional use of existing facilities.
The decline of local services in rural areas means that people have to travel more often to urban areas for access to schools, shops, health facilities, business and financial services. This decline, when coupled with high travel costs and limited availability of public transport to urban centres further isolates many rural communities. Lack of mobility puts sections of the rural population, particularly women, the elderly and young people, at a severe disadvantage in terms of searching for employment and access to services. In many cases the public transport that is available is not integrated.
Poor infrastructure and inadequate communications impact upon the competitiveness of rural businesses. Care is needed to ensure that any funding for improvements in infrastructure, aimed at assisting rural communities, is integrated with economic and environmental objectives and does not have a negative impact on the rural environment.
Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) offer significant opportunities for rural areas, for example teleworking, electronic banking, on-line services, providing the necessary infrastructure can be developed.
The rural areas of the Yorkshire and the Humber region provide an invaluable resource for access and active recreation for all the people of the region and its visitors. The rights of way, national trails, waterways, forests (existing and new) and open space have great economic and social value. The sustainable development of access infrastructure has a significant potential to satisfy the growing demand for access to the countryside and assist in delivering integrated rural development.
Page last modified:
17 August, 2005
Page published: 1 October, 2000