Cheltenham MP Questions CRC Decision

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has responded to the government announcement that the Commission for Rural Communities (CRC) is to close. The Cheltenham-based agency will be replaced by a Rural Communities Policy Unit that will be part of the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). The coalition has announced its intention to cut costs across government to help reduce the crippling national debt and also to remove so-called 'arms-length' quangos when policy is better made by ministers. But Martin has been critical of the lack of consultation surrounding this decision and said the government's announcement left important questions unanswered.

He commented: 'At least 60 jobs in Cheltenham have been put at risk by this announcement and I will be making a strong case to ministers for the new policy unit to retain staff in Cheltenham. But there are wider issues too. The CRC has three functions. Providing expert advice to government on rural affairs can be done within Defra but it's difficult to see how their independent watchdog and advocacy functions will be carried out. These are important influences on government policy. Only today, the Commission has launched an important report on upland areas stressing the importance of biodiversity, landscape management and reforestation as well as the needs of those who actually live in rural upland areas. Just abolishing this function could leave a big gap in government thinking.'

'I'm also very disappointed in the lack of consultation surrounding this decision. The new politics should be about transparency, consultation and evidence-based decision-making but I can't see much evidence of any of these on this occasion. I'm not expecting any special favours as a government MP, and I realise the ministers involved were Conservatives not members of my own party, but I would have thought all stakeholders should have been properly consulted. If the coalition is to keep public confidence for what are inevitably going to be some very tough decisions, we need to do better than this.'