I would like to start by thanking the Minister for her statement, and to pay tribute to the work of the Wales Rural Observatory in carrying out this research and producing such a thorough report. 

This work also touches on several of the issues the Rural Development committee has considered – in our inquiries into rural poverty and the reorganisation of schools in rural Wales. 

As has been said, this report looks at the whole range of experiences of living in these ‘deep’ rural communities – the exact issues very between the four communities, as you would expect, but I believe it paints a fair picture of life in rural Wales.

As the report notes, the major advantage of these communities is the quality of life – and this is what attracts so many people to move to the countryside, and I don’t believe these positive aspects – like the sense of community, belonging and trust – should be downplayed. 

But, as the report indicates, this quality of life comes at a price: 

The standard of public services in these communities is poor, and regrettably it’s declining. 

I do appreciate that it will always be cheaper to provide services in towns and cities. However, as shown in the report those in rural communities have lower expectations to begin with. 

But, they are council tax payers just like everyone else, and when even their modest expectations aren’t being met, then this obviously needs attention from the Assembly Government, and as our amendment states, a real improvement will only be possible with a long-term commitment to address the specific problems of rural Wales. 

For example, the report looks at NHS services, and to look at one of the communities - Aberdaron in the Llyn Peninsula – this is a region that’s cut-off from emergency services, with the nearest A&E department 40 miles away in Bangor and yet, given that the population may double in the tourist season, with obvious consequences for congestion on the roads – ambulance response times, and other emergency services times will be even worse. 

These isolated communities need services tailored to their needs – and in this case I would stress the importance of the Wales Air Ambulance for reaching the most urgent cases in time. 

The report highlights that 9 out of 10 residents are car-dependent – again, not something will surprise anyone living in a rural area. 

I have often spoken with constituents who are frustrated that there is just one bus service a day running to the nearest town – and on arriving, it immediately turns around – an experience that is shared on page 75 of this report. 

In my own village, the small on-demand bus service that was popular with residents has been replaced by a large 52-seater that can’t drive down the country roads, and it’s regularly seen without any passengers at all. 

Again, I stress how important it is to tailor public services to the needs of rural Wales, and I would say there is great scope to tackle car-dependence with community and on-demand transport schemes, and this is even more the case for our young people, many of them have to travel 20 or 30 miles to their nearest cinema, or bowling alley or for clubs. In most cases, this will mean a taxi trip at £50 simply because there are no bus services. 

The report recognises that this isolation has been made worse by closures:  Post offices, with all their essential services – simple things like car tax, savings, and so on, which were often combined with the village shop. 

Rural pubs – a focal point for the social life of many communities – and yet they have been closing at an alarming rate. And most important of all – the small village schools. 

There is an all-too-accurate account of the effect of these closures on page 115 of this report: existing families with small children move out, potential families have no incentive to move in, and those houses that are vacant are quickly filled by retirees. 

People are, of course, welcome to retire into these communities, but without a healthy social mix, and one that’s recognised and supported in the provision of affordable housing - of young families and couples, right through to the older generations - then these communities, many in the Welsh speaking heartlands, have no long-term future. 

The report also notes that over ninety percent of respondents viewed broadband as either essential or desirable, and it’s a source of frustration that this service – which could do so much to solve problems in isolated communities - for example a simple thing like online shopping for groceries, and accessing the services that have been lost after the post office has closed - isn’t available to so many people in rural Wales, and that a number of communities have the misfortune to be in both a broadband not-spot, and have no post office for 20-30 miles. 

Finally, I thank the Minister for her work in commissioning this report, but I hope she will accept that It is one thing to look into the problems of these communities – but quite another to genuinely solve them.  

When it has taken half of an Assembly term just to ‘identify’ the needs of deep rural areas – what confidence can she have that, in accordance with her ‘One Wales’ commitment, these will be ‘addressed’ before the people of Wales deliver their verdict on this Assembly Government in 2011?