How the Northern Ireland Government is tackling rural transport issues

Hi, I'm shan. I am the leader of the group Lynn.

Section 1 Northern Ireland Rural Issues

Four issues surfaced in Mark Allen's 2014 Rural isolation, poverty, and rural community/farmer welfare -scoping article.

In 2014, 23% of Northern Ireland households did not own a car or van. Even though many of these people reside in cities, they prefer to go by bike, cab, or bus. Because the distances connecting rural locations are too vast, taxis are too expensive, and the waiting time for public transportation is too long for some of the 23% of households that do not possess a car, this is tough for rural families.

Figure 1：Distance to nearest type one emergency care department(Cited from RaISe GIS service map as prepared for the Assembly Health Committee using NINIS data)

New Policy Institute data published in March 2014 shows families are the most significant contributors to poverty. Because they are poor, many cannot purchase a car and have minimal access to roads connecting rural and urban areas. Northern Ireland has Rural Community Transport Partnerships. The Rural Community Transport Partnership's 'Dial a Lift' scheme serves those living in rural locations with limited access to public transportation. To gain access to rural services, one must be a member of a local community transportation association and meet the following requirements: The person must live in a rural location.

According to the OFMDFM study written by Christine&Susan（2013）, Northern Ireland is worse off than the rest of the UK in fuel poverty. According to the 2011 Northern Ireland Housing Survey, fuel poverty affects 50% of families in Northern Ireland's remote rural districts.

Table 1:Number and proportion of fuel-poor households by country(Cited from Rural isolation, poverty and rural community/farmer wellbeing-scoping paper，2014）

Section 2 Northern Ireland Rural Issues Resolution Policy

Firstly, The phrase Rural Transport Fund dates back to November 1998, and it has been used in Northern Ireland since then. Its principal goal is to promote transportation services that provide people in rural areas with improved access to a job, education, healthcare, shopping, and other amenities. It is required to define the Rural Transport Fund here. Through revenue assistance, the Rural Transport Fund assists rural community transportation partners who provide additional services to their members' public transportation networks. The Rural Transport Fund serves social needs by collaborating with the central government and the community transportation sector to find answers to the transportation issues many people in rural areas experience. The Rural Transport Fund needs to meet social needs by improving access to training or work prospects for rural people, adding the work of other agencies involved in rural livelihoods, supporting a wide range of community activities, and has a broad base of communitarian support by working in partnership with the central government and the village transport sector to provide solutions to the transportation problems faced by many people in rural areas.

Section 3 An analysis of the urban and rural economies of Northern Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, wages and salaries account for 60% of per week's family income. Belfast City has the highest rate, at 65%. This is compared to the lowest in rural areas, which is 57%. Self-employment income accounts for 13 percent of weekly family income in rural areas. This contrasts with a Northern Ireland average of 8% and 5% in urban regions.

Table 2：Sources of total weekly household income by rural and urban areas.（Cited from Urban Rural Report: Northern Ireland 2014/15）

According to the Urban-Rural Report survey（2014/15), three-quarters of households in Northern Ireland pay less than £80 per week for accommodation. Over half of rural households (54%) indicated weekly housing expenditures of less than £220/week, as opposed to less than a third of Belfast City households, owing to the high prevalence of complete home ownership in rural regions. This figure is 9% in metropolitan areas, whereas it is 6% in rural areas. Household wealth has the potential to influence levels of social mobility within communities as well as perceptions of isolation. According to research published in March 2014 by the New Policy Research Institute (NPRI), average (median) income in Northern Ireland declined by over 10% between 2007/7 and 2011/2 and 7% in the UK.

Table 3:（Cited from Urban Rural Report: Northern Ireland 2014/15）

Based on NISRA population forecasts for 2006 to 2031 - map courtesy of the Centre for Ageing Research and Development Ireland (CARDI). Income is calculated after taxes, and housing expenses have been deducted.

Households are considered poor if their income exceeds 60% of the median income. According to new Policy Institute research, in addition to pensioner poverty, Northern Ireland is seeing an increase in the number of households living in poverty, which is higher than the national average.

According to a pre-2011 estimate of housing prices, Northern Ireland has a greater poverty rate than the rest of Ireland, with 21% of the population living in poverty compared to 15% in the Republic of Ireland.

Reference:

1. Rural Transport Fund (RTF) (2022) Infrastructure. Available at: https://www.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk/articles/rural-transport-fund-rtf#:~:text=Rural%20Community%20Transport%20There%20are%20Rural%20Community%20Transport,or%20find%20it%20difficult%20to%20use%20public%20transport. (Accessed: November 1, 2022).

2. Available at: http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/globalassets/documents/agriculture-and-rural-development/reviews/anti-poverty/rural-isolation-poverty-and-rural-community-farmer-wellbeing---scoping-paper.pdf.

3. Available at: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/frs-urban-rural-201415-report.pdf.

4. Liddell, C. and Lagdon, S. (2013) “Tackling fuel poverty in Northern Ireland - an area-based approach to finding households most in need.” Available at: https://www.executiveoffice-ni.gov.uk/publications/tackling-fuel-poverty-northern-ireland-area-based-approach-finding-households-most-need.

5. Kane, J., Hume, R. and grieve, L. (eds) (2016) “https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/ni-poverty-bulletin-201415.pdf.” Available at: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/communities/ni-poverty-bulletin-201415.pdf.