Nigel Evans, Member of Parliament for the Ribble Valley, today called on the Government to provide more help to rural areas that have suffered closures of many local services in recent months and years. Speaking at Questions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in response to the Minister’s statement that there is £1.5 billion set aside for the Working Neighbourhood Fund (which is designed to target regeneration in deprived areas), Mr Evans said: “Lancashire County Council did not receive any money from the fund. There ought to be greater flexibility in the Working Neighbourhood Fund to allow Local Authorities to interpret it so that they can give assistance to rural areas which have suffered through the loss of post offices, shops and schools and a lack of rural buses. “There is too much of a concentration on urban areas at the expense of rural areas and arguably rural enterprises have suffered more during this recession. |