The Plunkett Foundation know that rural life in the UK isn’t always easy, with the decline of vital services, the limited availability of jobs, affordable housing, public transport, adequate broadband and the rising cost of utilities, can mean for many people, living in a rural area presents a daily challenge.

This conference is free of charge and open to anyone that lives in, or supports, a rural community in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and wants to save or start a community co-operative – from shops, pubs, woodlands, renewable energy schemes, transport services or anything else, or are simply looking for inspiration and advice.

It is taking place in London on the 6th December 2017. For further details please click here: https://www.plunkett.co.uk/Event/inspiring-rural-communities-together-conference-2017

1 in 5 people face isolation if rural post offices close

Citizens Advice research shows they’re at the heart of rural communities — and vital for innovative rural businesses.

There are few day-to-day tasks you can’t now do online. You can monitor your home’s energy use and open the door for parcel deliveries when you’re out. At the same time, fewer and fewer people live in rural areas. It would probably be no surprise to hear that post offices and bank branches, which provide physical access to essential services, are closing in rural areas.

But this is only half right.

Bank branches are closing
Over 1,500 have shut since 2015. In fact, the total number has more than halved over the past 30 years. Bank branches usually close when they have fewer customers (like in rural areas) or where they handle relatively low value transactions (like in deprived areas).
More and more of us are banking online. The share of people using internet banking regularly has risen from 30% of the population in in 2007 to 63% in 2017. But vulnerable people — such as older or disabled people — are particularly reliant on accessing banking and bank accounts in branches.

Post offices are not closing
You may be surprised to hear that in contrast to bank branches, the total number of post offices has remained flat since 2010 at around 11,600. There has been no closure programme. Instead, the government invested £2 billion in post offices to make them more sustainable. This has included support for 3,000 ‘community’ branches that are the last shop in a village. Thanks in part to this investment, there are more post offices in the UK than branches of all the high street banks combined.

To read more on this article from Citizens Advice please click here.

Article from Which? on 1st November 2017

Gas and electricity bills are higher than 10 years ago

Six in 10 energy customers are on out-of-contract gas and electricity tariffs and paying over the odds for the gas and electricity they use, the energy regulator Ofgem revealed.

Almost as many (58%) customers admit they’ve never changed energy supplier, or have switched only once. Those who do switch can be paying around £300 less for the same gas and electricity.

Although the number of customers on poor value (standard variable) tariffs has fallen in the last two years, progress ‘isn’t happening fast enough’ Ofgem said in its annual State of the Market report.

Which? managing director of home products and services, Alex Neill, said: ‘Today’s report makes it crystal clear that the energy market is not working for consumers, with far too many people still stuck on expensive standard variable tariffs.

As the temperature drops and bills start rising, it is vital that the Government’s interventions really do fix the broken energy market. ‘Our advice to consumers who aren’t getting a good deal is to switch to a better deal now, before you find yourself overpaying for another winter.’

Read more: https://www.which.co.uk/news/2017/11/more-than-half-of-energy-customers-are-on-poor-value-deals/ – Which?

If you run or are involved with a group that would benefit from advice on energy costs please contact our Energy Expert, Helen – Helen.Dean@ccberks.org.uk, to find out about advice and guidance that she can give.

Getting unsold food direct from local stores to charities for free.

The food we redistribute is fresh, quality and in date surplus from the food industry and the charities we work with can be found across the UK. Last year we redistributed enough food for 25.8 million meals. But it’s about more than meals. The organisations we supply food to – from breakfast clubs for disadvantaged children, to homeless hostels, community cafes and domestic violence refuges – are places that provide life changing support, as well as lunch and dinner. By making sure good food is not wasted, we turn an environmental problem into a social solution.

We use simple technology, provided by our partner FoodCloud, to match charities and community groups directly with a local Tesco store that has unsold food. By working together we cut down on waste, save organisations money and help provide nutritious meals to people in need.

How does it work?

1. The charity/organisation nominates one or more mornings per week that they are available to collect surplus food from their local store.

2. On the evening prior to nominated collection day at 7:30pm, they will be notified via text that their donation is available for collection.

3. The fresh surplus food will be packaged and available for collection from the store from 7-10am. Organisations are not obliged to take everything that is available.

4. The food then needs to be taken back to the registered premises, rather than the staff member’s house.

5. There are also Evening collections where charities/groups can collect anytime between 8.30pm-10pm available from Tesco Metro and Tesco Extra stores

What food is available?

• Baked goods – from loaves of bread to pastries
• Fruit and vegetables• Dried goods (e.g. cereals, tins, pasta)
• Chilled goods – including meat and dairy products (evening collections only)

How can you use the food?

If you have a community café or provide a meal for your clients then this is a fantastic way to add some extras to the food you already provide. If you have a weekly group you could use the bread to provide tea and toast, or snacks for people attending. There is also the opportunity to provide small food parcels if you have identified some residents or clients who are in need of food to supplement their income.

Can my organisation receive food?

In order to receive food, your organisation needs to be equipped to receive, store, prepare and serve foods safely. However, charities and community groups do not need to cook meals and they can distribute food to vulnerable people in the form of food parcels. We will need to come and visit you to make sure that everything is in place with regards to food safety before you can start collecting.