The Chancellor has been criticised for 'doing nothing' to spur on rural growth as he outlined the government's spending review today.
Rishi Sunak unveiled the spending plans for the year as the government prepares to battle the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer told parliament on Wednesday (25 November) that nearly £400bn will be borrowed this year, a peacetime record.
Pay rises for the public sector will freeze next year, investment in infrastructure will total £100bn, and departmental spending will increase in real terms by 3.8%.
He confirmed the government's plans to launch a new infrastructure bank, to be headquartered in the north of England.
Mr Sunak also said that the national living wage will be increased to £8.91 an hour, and extended to people over the age of 21.
But the rural sector has raised fears that the spending review did little to show the government’s mantra of 'building back better' would apply to the rural economy.
The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said today's announcements 'would do nothing to boost economic growth in the countryside'.
Mark Bridgeman, CLA president highlighted that rural productivity was 16 percent less productive than the national average.
"If government takes steps to close that productivity gap, then £43bn will be unlocked into the economy, creating jobs and strengthening communities."
He said for the rural economy to achieve its 'vast potential', the government would 'need to do a great deal more'.
"We need to see ministers... work together, and with the industry, to identify and deliver new policies specifically designed to create jobs and grow businesses in the countryside.”
