RDC(3) P&D21

Rural Development Sub-Committee

Inquiry into Poverty and Deprivation in Rural Wales

Response from National Federation of Women’s Institutes-Wales

Background

The National Federation of Women’s Institutes (NFWI) is an educational, social, non-party political and non-sectarian organisation. It was established to ensure that women are able to take an effective part in their community, to learn together, widen their horizons, improve and develop the quality of their lives and those of their communities and together influence local, national and international affairs. The WI has an unrivalled reputation as a voice of reason, integrity and intelligence on issues that matter to women and their communities.

NFWI-Wales is the "public face of the NFWI in Wales, by supporting and representing the needs and concerns of WI members in a bilingual country, by influencing policy and providing opportunities for community involvement and education”.

The NFWI has deep roots in rural communities with the first WI in the UK formed in Llanfair PG on Anglesey in 1915. The organisation has always been active in campaigning on rural issues such as food and farming, transport, affordable housing and the environment.

The structure of the WI enables it to reach into the heart of local communities.  It functions on three levels:-

Local level - there are 500 WIs based in local communities across Wales with a total membership of 16,000;

Federation (county) level - WIs belong to 13 Federations;

National level - The plan of work in Wales is carried out by four bilingual paid staff who work at the NFWI-Wales Office in Cardiff.

1.  What are the poverty/deprivation problems faced by rural areas?  What are the specific needs of rural areas in relation to this issue?

There are a number of problems which impact on quality of life in rural areas such as labour market exclusion, lack of affordable childcare, erosion of local services and poor transport provision - all of which contribute towards rural poverty and deprivation.

Below details some of the problems faced by rural areas and which have been experienced first-hand by WI members in their local communities.

Access to services

Access to local services is increasingly becoming problematic in rural areas. The closure of banks, post offices, schools and hospitals all impact on the vibrancy of a community and its population’s health and well being.

In 2004 the Wales Rural Observatory undertook a detailed survey of local service in rural Wales using Community Councils (or Town Councils) as the unit of analysis, over 70% of the councils responded and the survey identified that 68% did not have shops selling food, 67% did not have shops selling non food items and 38% did not have a general store. With regard to post offices 72% of councils did not have a post office and as for banks and building societies 85% did not have a bank and 90% were without a building society.

Businesses

The NFWI-Wales is concerned about the impact that the loss of local businesses is having on communities across Wales. Small local shops, that are often the lifeblood of communities, are closing at a rate of 50 a week.  Many WI members have been directly affected by such closures and have seen their communities suffer as a result.

In 2005 NFWI produced the 90@90 report which represents women’s reflections on how consumer habits had changed over the last 90 years and how these changes affect our physical and social environment. In the 90@90 report, there was a strong feeling that the rise of the supermarket was instrumental in the loss of local small retailers in rural areas.  It was felt that they were being driven out of business by the price strategies of the large supermarkets. The average £40 per household that is perceived as being saved on our food bills pales into insignificance against the impact of the loss of newsagents, grocers, pharmacies and other small shops to local economies, and the communities that they sustain.

With the main supermarkets diversifying by buying smaller shops it was also felt that this resulted in reduced food choice and a lack of locally sourced produce.  In the 90@90 report, it was stated that there were great concerns about how older people of the village could gain reasonable access to fresh, affordable food.  With the growth of the out-of-town supermarkets, WI members felt this had increased car use, disrupting the community and contributing to greater carbon-dioxide emissions.  NFWI-Wales welcomes the recent announcement of the establishment of an independent ombudsman to oversee the groceries market.

Health services

Access to health services is also problematic in rural Wales.  Rural Communities are concerned about the lack of dental surgeries as there is a chronic shortage of NHS dentists and other dental team members in parts of Wales, with 84% without a dental practice.

Access to doctors surgeries and out of hours provision is also an issue, this often only includes a telephone service and there are long delays for a doctor at night especially in rural areas.  Closure of a doctor’s surgery in Powys Radnor has resulted in people having to travel 6½ miles or more to the nearest surgery and wait for longer appointments. This has contributed to increased road travel and fuel costs.

During 2007, the Association of Communities in Wales with Small Schools (ACWSS) carried out a rural issues survey in which over 100 people took part.  Some of the comments made in relation to health included ”distance to hospitals”, "no NHS dentists, "long delays for night doctor”, "waiting time for ambulances”.

The closure of community hospitals has been an issue of concern to WI members. In June 2007, WI members passed a resolution 'urging Her Majesty’s Government to stop the closure of Community Hospitals, which provide essential services to local people’.  NFWI-Wales welcomed the announcement by the Welsh Assembly Government in June 2007 of a moratorium on changes to community hospitals until further consultation with communities had been held.

Closure of rural schools

School closures are impacting on the vibrancy of communities and contributing to social exclusion.  The closure of rural schools can undermine the social fabric that exists within small communities, affecting language, community spirit and social fabric.  WI members are deeply concerned about school closures and some WIs have been campaigning to safeguard local schools in their local authority area.  

Examples of facilities/services under threat

The villages detailed below are examples highlighted in the questionnaire responses to the ACWSS Rural Issues Survey published in July 2007.

Cwmgoleu, near Welshpool
Threatened services: Post Office, Pub, Community Centre, Public Toilets, Nursery, Primary School and local cottage hospital.

Pontneathvaughan, Glyn Neath
Threatened services:  Small village shop, Post Office, Public Toilets, Nursery, Primary School.

Scethrog, Brecon
Threatened services: Small village shop, Post Office, Library, Public Toilets, Public Transport, Community Transport, Primary School and local/cottage hospital.

Transport

It is evident that poor public transport provision gives rise to social exclusion and rural deprivation.  In many areas of rural Wales public transport is expensive and infrequent which results in isolation from social, health and welfare, and employment facilities and at times compromises personal safety.

The provision of public transport in Wales is related to the size of the population; as the population of an area grows so does the public transport.  Linking this to employment, the need for people to travel to work is also related to population size, the smaller the population the greater the need for people to travel to suitable employment. Bus services that run at peak hours are fairly limited in large parts of rural Wales with less than 50% of communities having such services in population bands of less than a 1,000 people.

In the 90@90 report WI members highlighted the impractical nature of public transport at the present time which was most apparent to those living in rural areas. There was consensus that some jobs, and especially shopping trips, could not easily be done without a car, particularly in rural areas where many local shops had closed. Some WI members persevered in their use of buses, but such commitment demanded good physical mobility and a great deal of spare time.  Buses were not timed to suit shoppers and it was generally quicker to go by a direct route in the car.

"The Government is always banging on about how we should use public transport, but you can’t if there isn’t any”. (Participant in WI focus group, Powys Montgomery)

Some of the statements included in the 2007 ACWSS Rural Issues survey included "sparse bus service”, "timetables don’t join up”, "no community transport” and "commuting by public transport impossible thereby affecting job seeking”.

Farming industry

Over recent years, the farming industry has been faced with difficulties such as the foot and mouth outbreak in 2001, the banning of meat exports, and the low price received by dairy farmers for their milk.  Low farmgate milk prices has over recent years caused a number of farmers to leave the industry having  a colossal effect on the environment and rural communities. In 2005 WI members passed a resolution calling on members to "do all in their power to raise public awareness of the unfair difference between the retail price of milk and the price paid to the farmer”.  

Specific needs of rural communities

• High quality employment opportunities;
• Access to education and training facilities;
• Affordable, high quality childcare and care of the elderly facilities;
• Access to basic services - post office, school, corner shop, doctors surgery  etc. - in the community;
• Strong support from the Government, supermarkets, businesses and consumers for the farming industry;
• An integrated public transport service.

3.i)  What anti-poverty/deprivation initiatives (Welsh Assembly Government or Local Authority) are you aware of?

NFWI-Wales is aware of the Communities First initiative and has experience of delivering projects in Communities First areas.  NFWI-Wales manages the Women Making a Difference project in partnership with Oxfam and Women’s Voice to educate and empower women across Wales to contribute to the decision-making processes that impact on their lives. The project is targeting women who live in Newport, Bridgend, Blaenau Gwent, Anglesey, Neath Port Talbot and Wrexham and many of the courses have been held in communities first areas.

We are also aware of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation.

4.  What specific measures would you like to see implemented by the Welsh Assembly Government

Transport

The NFWI-Wales has maintained that appropriate local transport provision is essential for the well-being of rural communities, especially for women, who are often at greater risk of feeling isolated. WAG must ensure that there is good transport provision in rural areas particularly when local services are closing.

Rural Schools

Whilst it is inevitable that some rural schools most close, NFWI-Wales would urge the Welsh Assembly to review its policy on school closures and to support small schools to become community resources. As well as the educational impact, it is vital that the environmental impact of school closures is assessed due to increased transport needs that would arise.  One of the comments made in the ACWSS rural survey was that schools were not being used enough for community activities.

In 2006, 5,000 WI members signed a petition calling on the Minister for Education to acknowledge the crisis facing rural village schools and publish new guidelines for Local Authorities. ACWSS also has an ambition to develop small schools as a community resource and has looked at the lessons learnt in Poland where there are 200 not for profit community run schools.

Provision and access to local services

There was a strong recognition in NFWI’s 90@90 report that a community needs certain basic services - a bank, post offices, small shops, doctors surgery etc. - to thrive. NFWI-Wales would urge the Welsh Assembly Government to put in place measures to protect these facilities from being taken away or eroded.

NFWI-Wales suggests that local authorities offer support to rural retailers, for instance by charging lower business rates to help keep prices down or by providing training and support - for instance in sourcing, handling and marketing fresh and local produce.

5.  What examples of good practice are you aware of in Wales/other parts of the UK/overseas?

Co-operatives are seen as an example of good practice and it was hoped that farmers and shops could work in cooperatives to help sustain local businesses and gain benefits from joint sales and purchasing.

Local living project

In August 2006, the WI together with SPAR and nef (the new economics foundation) joined forces to run an eight month pilot project to discover how the village of Bampton, Devon sources its food and the pivotal roles local stores and community groups play in village life.

Based on the successes in Bampton, in 2007 NFWI launched the Living Local toolkit.  The purpose of the toolkit is to encourage and support communities all around the country to work together to raise awareness of the benefits local food has to offer. This toolkit provides WIs, community groups, retailers and producers with guidance for running their own Living Local project.

Population groups

6.  To what extent are these groups living in poverty/deprivation in rural Wales?

A number of groups may not consider themselves as living in poverty or deprivation but there may be a negative impact on their quality of life due to barriers in accessing employment or education and training or through difficulties in accessing local services.  These types of uses give rise to social exclusion and can contribute towards the poverty of individuals and deprivation of communities.

7.  What poverty/deprivation issues are experienced by these population groups that are specific to rural areas?  Please highlight any relevant evidence or research that you are aware of.

Older people and economically inactive

NFWI-Wales is concerned that it is the most vulnerable, such as older people and low-income families, who are directly affected by the loss of local facilities. Closure of key services such as post offices in rural communities add to rural poverty and deprivation as these groups are dependent on a vibrant post office service.

NFWI-Wales has expressed its concern on several occasions about changes within the post office service.  In 2006 WI members wrote to their MPs to express their concern about the withdrawal and forced migration from the Post Office Card Account (POCA) as this will force thousands of post offices to close. The current Network Change Programme is giving grave cause for concern amongst WI members, given that 75% of rural post offices are run alongside another retail business and many are only likely to remain viable if both businesses are able to continue, post offices can easily be defined as services which contribute to the 'continued viability of rural communities and provide access to employment opportunities’.  

Rural post offices have great value (including social value) attached to them by residents, particularly by older people or customers with disabilities.  This is because the post offices remain an important source of documentary forms, information and advice on public services.  They also provide access to cash and basic banking facilities and process social benefits and license applications.  Post offices therefore provide key services to local communities and stepping stones to increased economic activity.  More broadly, the continued existence of post offices sustains rural quality of life and enhances opportunity in rural areas for those who are disadvantaged. WI members were recently encouraged to get involved in responding to the consultation on the closures of 31 post offices in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.

Powys Radnor Federation has highlighted the following issues relating to Post Office closures - a) no other means to obtain money; b) service bills could be paid through a Post Office; c) new sizing of letters makes posting even more difficult - knowing the correct postage needed; d) very difficult for people without bank accounts.

NFWI’s 90@90 report stated that the loss of small local retailers had led to increased problems with food shopping for people living on a low income, especially older people.  With the advent of online shopping, the most vulnerable - older people and those living on a low income - had become further distanced from access to healthy and affordable food.

Powys Radnor Federation is concerned that the loss of the last remaining shops in New Radnor is a possibility as has already happened in surrounding villages.  Again, it would be older people that would be hit hardest.

Community Safety concerns WI members.  They have commented that they seldom see any police unless there has been an incident and are concerned that government funding for police in rural areas is being reduced.

Children and Young People

Fear of school closures is an issue which impacts negatively on children, young people and the wider community. A local school ensures that the fabric of a community remains vibrant and gives a child a sense of belonging and involvement in the community. NFWI-Wales is concerned that closure of local schools in rural communities could result in young children spending about an hour travelling to and from school.  

Lack of transport can act as a barrier to young people getting involved in activities and entertainment outside their community. Bringing increased leisure opportunities to local communities would keep young people in their areas and also attract others to the area.

9.  In what ways are any sub-groups within the four population groups particularly affected by rural poverty/deprivation, for example, disabled economically inactive or female older people?

Women are central to families and communities, yet all over the world they are a marginalised social group who are disadvantaged in society and under represented in decision making.  Women make up 53% of the population of Wales, but they continue to be disadvantaged compared to men and persistent gender inequalities continue to leave women without an equal voice in the decision making processes that impact on their lives and their environment.

Rural women are disadvantaged in society and encounter poverty of opportunity in all areas of life - labour market exclusion, low pay, lack of affordable quality childcare, poor pension entitlements and limited access to services. Women’s poverty is closely linked to their family status and caring roles.  Since the majority of caring remains unpaid, women’s caring roles have a major impact on women’s economic status.  All these factors contribute to women’s social exclusion and their inability to participate in the running of their communities.

Transport (Females - all)

Getting to work or to places with work impedes women more than men with women in rural areas finding transport more of a problem than those living in towns and cities.  

A Briefing paper 'Gender and Bus Travel’ in Wales produced by the Welsh Consumer Council in December 2005 highlights how women’s and men’s transport needs differ.  For example, 56% of women are frequent or occasional users of buses, compared to just 39% of men; the pay gap between men and women means that women are less likely to be able to afford private transport; women are more likely to travel with bags and pushchairs and women are more likely to work irregular shifts and need to commute outside normal working hours.  The Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion Report (2005) also reported that public transport links did not connect with places of employment at times which support labour market participation.

Safety is also another key issue for women which can make car driving more appealing.

Childcare

Lack of access to affordable high quality childcare acts as a barrier to both learning and employment.  The Survey of Rural Services in Wales (2005) demonstrated that a large proportion of councils in rural Wales with a population below 4000 had no nursery provision.

There is a desperate need for adequate, affordable and good quality care provision or women will continue to find it difficult to enter into and retain employment.  

Once in employment, employers do not always practice flexible working policies or give consideration to caring issues which enable women to remain happy in their jobs and to progress in their chosen career.

Care of older people

In Wales 340,000 people are providing unpaid care and the majority of these are women. The Survey of Rural Services in Wales (2005) highlights the lack of care provision for the elderly and disabled with 74% of Councils without day care facilities for the elderly and 89% without day care provision for the disabled.

With the provision of these services posing such a problem for women, it is not easy to gain employment as often the only option available to women is part time work, and there is not enough part time work to fit in with childcare and other responsibilities.  Because of this shortage of childcare and care provision generally, it is worth noting that in these circumstances family and friends undertake the role of caring, but this does not always provide the security that more formal arrangements can give.  Therefore it is important to recognise that often this family support facilitates work.

Employment (Females - working age)

The rural idyll presents an image of the woman at home caring for her family but this traditional image removes women from the jobs market which has contemporary links with poverty, disempowerment and isolation.  In rural Wales 45% of men work full time as opposed to 29% of females, whereas 17% females work part time as opposed to 4% of men.  The percentage of women who are economically active in rural Wales be it in full time or part time employment or self employed is 52% which is less than the Welsh average of 67.8% and 69.9% for the UK.  Much of the work that women do is in farming or in shops, hotels and restaurants and overall earnings are lower than in urban areas.

As mentioned above, the majority of carers are women.  As a consequence, it is women who are directly affected by lack of access to affordable, high quality childcare and the lack of care provision for the elderly and disabled.  The lack of these  services provides barriers to women in accessing education, training and employment opportunities due to problems in juggling work-life balance. In many cases, women must rely on family and friends for support.

Rural Stress

It is also estimated that 1 in 4 people will have a mental health problem at some time during their life and farming has been identified as one of the occupations most at risk of suicide.  With regard to women, statistics are very hard to come by on this issue, since it is a condition that is both hard to define and hard to admit to. The only statistics that are routinely kept that might provide a barometer of rural stress are the suicide statistics, which are obviously at the extreme end of ungovernable stress

conditions, therefore most of the evidence is anecdotal. Research by the Rural Stress and Wellbeing Network suggests that women suffering from rural stress are an even more invisible group than male sufferers. The culture of making-do and coping may prevent them asking for help for themselves. One doctor reported that while a wife might bring her husband to the doctor if he is stressed or depressed, husbands will rarely bring their wives. There is also evidence that women in the farming community `are subject to increasing and unrecognised stress in that they are continuing to fulfil their traditional role in supporting the farming business and also having to take additional outside work to boost farming income.

Voluntary contribution  Female older people)

Women’s roles are not always recognised or respected. There is a need for recognition of women’s unpaid contribution to the economy.  Women, through their involvement in the life of their communities, play a key part in regenerating communities and improving quality of life. NFWI’s Wealth of the Countryside survey shows that its members contribute almost £35m worth of time in a year through voluntary work. Activities include assisting local schools and helping young people with learning disabilities.  Members also care for their community with often unnoticed activities such as driving neighbours to hospital appointments and checking up on older people living alone.  All these activities contribute towards a vibrant economy.

10.  What are the most effective ways of tackling poverty/deprivation for individuals from these groups living in rural parts of Wales?

Recent research by The Carnegie Commission for Rural Community Development stated that for rural communities to thrive in the future, they need to be given a greater say in their own affairs and the means to secure successful futures for themselves.  This means strengthening local democracy and investing in local communities to enable them to manage and own important local assets and enterprises.

NFWI-Wales believes that women have a vital role to play in the future development of their communities and the organisation is uniquely placed to encourage and empower women to undertake these roles. Women, through their involvement in the life of their communities, can play a key part in regenerating communities and improving quality of life. Currently the significant contribution made by women to local and community development is not reflected in their participation in the decision-making processes.

11.  How can these problems be addressed by the Welsh Assembly Government?

Cross-departmental communication between WAG departments when developing policies addressing the needs of rural communities. Sustainable Development must be interwoven into all policy decisions.  For example, any changes to local provision must take into account the environmental impact through increased travel and also the availability of public transport to enable people to access services.

Gender equality is widely acknowledged as a key factor behind growth and the efficient allocation of resources, poverty reduction and social cohesion.

It is crucial that policy making to tackle poverty/deprivation in rural communitites include a "gender-impact analysis” to identify the likely outcomes for women and men. The issue of gender disadvantage needs to be at the helm of all and all policies and practices need to be 'gender-proofed’ for their impact on women, especially vulnerable women.

Effective gender analysis provides information on how resources are allocated to women and men, highlights constraints imposed by women’s socially constructed and confined roles and proposes women empowering policies. Gender-disaggregated data at all levels would allow for an adequate assessment of women’s participation in rural development.