Household incomes in some rural areas were hit hard by the collapse of local economies after the Foot an Mouth crisis. Yet five years on, despite government promises to revitalise these areas, researchers find that other ‘political’ issues have hijacked the effort.

A study published by the Centre for Rural Economy (CRE) at Newcastle University on the fifth anniversary of the disease outbreak, reports that household incomes in remoter rural areas continue to lag behind the national average.

The worst affected counties (Cumbria and Devon) are falling ever further behind national economic growth rates.

A key reason for the slump, say researchers, is the failure of government policies designed to help develop local rural economies since the Foot and Mouth crisis. In particular, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), originally set up to champion rural issues, has been ‘swamped’ by other political issues such as climate change, and rural affairs has slipped way down its agenda, say the study authors.

The report says other reasons for the failure include:

• The government’s response to the crisis and its aftermath was too heavily oriented towards the farming industry. Farmers received £1.34billion in compensation for livestock losses, while only £39million was given to the Business Recovery Fund aimed at rural businesses that suffered losses.
• The government and other countryside organisations have been preoccupied since 2001 with institutional reforms and mergers, including the abolition of the Countryside Agency, which had rural affairs at its heart.
• The government has passed over operational responsibility for rural development to Regional Development Agencies but, say the study authors, most of these are preoccupied with urban regeneration.
• Less than four per cent of European Common Agricultural Policy funding earmarked for rural development is available to non-farming businesses and activities in the UK (such as rural services, village improvement, tourism). However, the vast bulk of EU rural development support goes to farmers, but agriculture employs just 2.6 per cent of the workforce in rural areas.

The Foot and Mouth crisis radically altered people’s perceptions of the countryside. Previously, it was widely assumed that farming was the mainstay of the rural economy. However, when farmers’ leaders and the Prime Minister discouraged people from visiting the countryside to prevent the spread of the disease, it soon became clear that the damage done to tourism and other rural businesses in 2001 far outweighed the economic damage to the farming industry.

Yet the lessons have not been learned, according to the study authors.

Director of the CRE, Professor Neil Ward said: "Setting up DEFRA in 2001 resulted in a sprawling ministry also handling environmental protection and climate change. The result has been the reverse of what was planned, and a marginalisation of rural affairs in Whitehall."

"The mishandling of the FMD outbreak meant an animal disease wrought havoc on non-farming businesses in rural areas. Sadly, the bungling of the lesson-learning process has meant that polices for rural areas are in more of a mess than before Foot and Mouth struck, and those who suffered worst from the crisis have been let down".