Wantage and Didcot Liberal Democrats

Government should actively support rural communities and local enterprises

Lib Dem Leader Nick Clegg has set out, in a recent speech to the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, the Liberal Democrat plan to make rural communities accessible, vibrant and green. Lib Dems would scrap Whitehall's regional planning targets for new homes, and hand local authorities the power to decide housing levels, working with the communities affected. Lib Dems would also promote locally grown produce and small enterprises, for the sake of the environment and of the residents of smaller towns and villages.

Addressing current housing issues, Mr Clegg announced that the Liberal Democrats would cancel regional planning targets for new homes issued from Whitehall, as well as national targets. He explained that regional housing targets aren't delivering the housing people need, and that we want to let local authorities, in consultation with local people, decide on the housing their communities need.

Rural communities need more affordable housing, more social housing. He argued that villages risk becoming gated communities for the rich and the retired, unless local housing needs are met.

Turning to the effects of the recession on rural communities, Mr Clegg warned that the recession could create two-tier rural communities, exacerbating the current crisis in housing and services. Recession means tougher times for rural communities and tougher decisions for how we use land. So more than ever we need a vision for rural England.

The Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) identifies the scale and distribution of new housing in the region, guided by the government's ambition for three million new homes by 2020, as set out in the 2007 Housing Green Paper. At the national level, 'PPS3: Housing' sets out the government's planning policies for housing, which regional planning bodies should take into account in developing RSSs. Government research earlier in the year into emerging RSSs indicated that plans for the provision of rural homes continue to lag (CLG Feb 08). The shortfall in the provision to meet housing need is most acute in rural areas. There is a particular shortfall in affordable housing, as shown by the final report of the Affordable Rural Housing Commission (2006) and the Taylor Review of Affordable Housing and Sustainable Rural Communities (July 2008).

The abolition of Regional Assemblies will leave responsibility for the RSSs with Regional Development Agencies, so ultimately housing numbers will be under the control of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. Regional housing targets are widely felt to be an inadequate mechanism for delivering the appropriate numbers, mix or dispersal of housing (demonstrated by the Taylor Review Call for Evidence 2008).

The Liberal Democrats are proposing the suspension of the current targets and their replacement with sub-regional targets. Local Authorities should be empowered to set local targets based on local needs assessments and consultation with local communities. Local Authorities could either work alone where appropriate, based on capacity and the size of the area, or in clusters as part of multi-area agreements or existing sub-regional partnerships.

Liberal Democrats believe economic recovery starts at home. Our whole approach to restoring growth is about putting money into people's pockets - through interest rate cuts and tax cuts. To have the greatest effect, that money needs to be spent locally, stimulating demand. So consumers should be proud to 'Buy British' and 'Buy Local', particularly at a time of recession.

The idea of food miles, and the benefits of sourcing food locally, has become well-known over the last couple of years. Work by farmers, chefs, market owners and organisations like British Food Fortnight have successfully promoted the ethos of 'Buy British' and 'Buy Local' within the food sector, promoting the quality of British produce as well as the environmental, social and economic benefits of supporting local and national industry.

Liberal Democrats want to transpose this success to all British industry. We rightly cannot, under EU law, favour British businesses, and do not want to impose any restrictions on international trade, which we believe is of great benefit to British consumers through lower prices. We would oppose any move towards increased protectionism by any countries prompted by the global recession.

However, we do want to ensure consumers are able to make informed decisions and be able to choose local and British products when they want to. Additional consumer demand for local manufacture would give a competitive edge to UK producers currently threatened by price-only comparison with rivals in the Far East.

We will work with the CBI and small business representatives to replicate the 'Little Red Tractor' scheme for non-food products. A Union Flag logo on goods manufactured in the UK would help provide consumers with the information they need to make informed choices.

We will support these organisations in moves to promote the 'Buy British' approach, from research into the environmental impact of distant manufacture, through to publicity campaigns such as a 'British Made Fortnight'.