‘ A watershed to transform rural areas’
Experts say pandemic offers more scope to work from homes in towns and villages
THE DRAMATIC shift in working arrangements during the coronavirus pandemic is set to provide a watershed for employers and their staff in the hope it will help transform the rural economy, leading experts have claimed.
The move towards working from home for millions of employees nationally has led to an unprecedented opportunity for business leaders to transform the focus away from traditional offices.
It is hoped the knock- on effect will benefit businesses and workers, as companies are able to expand their search for the most talented recruits from across the country while employees are given greater scope to work from home in small towns and villages.
Ian Warren, the co- founder of the Centre for Towns research group, said evidence was already emerging that staff are looking at alternative locations to work from.
He added: “We’re seeing a big potential for places to market themselves as remote working destinations.”
Mr Warren stressed that technology was a key aspect to ensuring employees were able to work from a far wider geographical area. He added: “If a place can attract and retain a thriving working age population, it does well, generally speaking.
“That’s true across the country, the best performing towns are ones with a healthy mix of age groups and professional types.”
Official figures from the Office for National Statistics which were released last month revealed that a total of 46.6 per cent of the nation’s workforce did at least some work from home in April – the first full month of the lockdown.
The vast majority of those employees – 86 per cent – worked from home as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
Efforts are already under way to ensure that the necessary digital infrastructure is in place in some of Yorkshire’s remotest communities, which will heighten the ability of staff to work from rural areas.
It was announced in June that the next phase of a multi- million pound project to bring superfast broadband across North Yorkshire was being launched to introduce vital internet coverage to the deeply rural county.
North Yorkshire County Council confirmed that it was rolling out the fourth stage of the hugely ambitious project which has already seen internet access improved for tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
The council’s executive member for access, Coun Don Mackenzie, claimed that the next stage of the scheme “could not have come at a better time” amid efforts to ease the economy from the grip of the coronavirus crisis.
A Rural Commission, which has been established to look at how North Yorkshire’s countryside communities can remain sustainable, has also called on the Government to treat reliable high- quality broadband provision in the same way as other essential utilities such as water and electricity.
Ali Jaffer, the policy lead at the Social Mobility Commission, also told The Yorkshire Post that the move towards home- working was a huge opportunity for companies to attract the best candidates from outside of their existing geographical circles.
He said: “Opportunity is still particularly concentrated in London and the South- East. People who move to those areas, particularly from more deprived communities, often do so at the expense of important family connections.
“Some people move because they’re forced to move, while others simply can’t afford to move.
“But Covid- 19 is likely to change things as there’s an opportunity for employers in particular to change how they work and not become so workplace- centric.”
He urged city- based employers and those with head offices in the South to consider the untapped talent in parts of Yorkshire, particularly towns and villages.
He added: “It’s not suitable for all employers, but for those who can do it, they should think about expanding their talent pool.”
The best performing towns are ones with a healthy age groups mix. Ian Warren, the co- founder of the Centre for Towns research group.
THE NEXT few months will be a crucial time for British agriculture as it sees the implementation of what is the most radical reshaping of the industry since the Second World War, according to farming leaders.
A dramatic transformation of the sector comes as the Government continues to try to hammer out a trade deal for Brexit amidst the backdrop of the huge economic pressures of the coronavirus pandemic.
The NFU’s North- East regional director, Adam Bedford, said there was a “busy autumn” ahead and stressed the importance of a workable trade deal being agreed before the end of the Brexit transition period in December.
“The EU market is key for agriculture and Yorkshire. Around 40 per cent of what we produce is exported to Europe so we need to get a trade deal right,” he said.
Farming and rural organisations have been at the forefront of the campaign to safeguard the UK’s high food and welfare standards in any future trade deals, not just with the EU but globally.
Fears have been voiced that a lack of formal requirements in the Agricultural Bill, currently with the House of Lords, to uphold these standards would allow cheap imported food into the country, produced to standards that would currently be illegal in the UK.
Baroness McIntosh of Pickering said the greatest threat is that in maintaining the UK’s high standards, the nation imports farm produce at a far lower standard.
These concerns were backed by the public in a petition set up by the NFU which called on the Government to protect UK standards and establish an independent Trade and Agriculture Commission.
The petition reached more than one million signatures.
At the end of June, in a letter to the NFU’s president, Minette Batters, International Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced the Government’s support for the body.
Mr Bedford said it was important to ensure farmers, who will be working within the new Environment Land Management Scheme ( ELMS) which replaces the EU’s subsidy scheme, were on a level playing field.
“Farmers are up for the challenge, but we can’t compete if standards are different,” he said.
The CLA’s director for the North, Dorothy Fairburn, added: “In the Government’s pursuit of lucrative ‘ post- Brexit’ trade deals, we want to ensure that our standards on food and animal welfare are maintained, and not diminished by sub- standard food imports.”
The new legislation laid out in the Agriculture Bill for ELMS will see farmers paid “public money for public goods” with the focus on animal welfare, the environment and sustainability.
Mrs Fairburn said it was an opportunity for the industry to be recognised for the “valuable contribution” it can make in addressing the environment crisis, climate emergency and protection of vital resources.
Farmers will also feel the impact of two other key pieces of legislation currently in the House of Commons, the Environment Bill and the Trade Bill.