WAG must get on the bus out of rural poverty

4.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 23rd Jul 2008

Speaking after the launch of the Rural Development sub-committee's comprehensive report on Rural Deprivation in Wales Kirsty Williams AM for Brecon and Radnorshire has welcomed the call for improved public transport services across Wales to help tackle rural poverty.

The report finds that the Welsh Assembly Government is failing Wales' rural poor and adds further clout to the findings of recent influential reports including Children in Wales': "Families not areas suffer rural disadvantage" and Joseph Rowntree's: "Rural Housing in Wales".

Kirsty Williams Welsh Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Economy and Transport said: "This report adds to the growing concrete evidence which backs up what we in rural Wales have known for a long time - that our rural population have problems accessing services due to high transport and fuel costs and this is exacerbated by a shortage of affordable housing coupled with lower incomes. The result is a skills drain of our young and isolation of our elderly.

"Poverty in rural areas is all too often hidden behind idyllic landscape and is not as immediately visible as it can be in urban areas but that does not mean it is any less alarming.

"As the Labour Government oversees the closure of our post offices, tax offices, schools and phone boxes and refuses to invest in public transport we are seeing the erosion of our rural communities piece by piece - we must see a change in this policy which shows limited vision and understanding of our rural areas

"The Liberal Democrats have long called for more and better access to public transport in rural areas - access to public transport means access to services, jobs, education and social inclusion without it we see a fragmented and eroded community.

"I welcome the report's calls for higher targets for affordable homes and improved planning guidance along with the generation of a more varied economy and widened access to public transport for both the old and the young - it is essential that our elderly can grow old independently and retain access to services and social interaction. We also need a young population to keep our communities alive and we must not force them out with high living costs, limited job opportunities and a feeling of seclusion."