MP reveals frustration at 'slow progress' of plans for Berwick Academy in speech criticising quality of public services in North Northumberland

David Smith, Labour MP for North Northumberland, led an adjournment debate on rural issues in the Houses of Parliament.

Among the issues he raised in his ‘case for the countryside’ were unreliable public transport, inaccessible education, limited access to healthcare, and connectivity problems.

He warned that rural areas ‘risk becoming museums, full of interesting artefacts for visitors, but lifeless and neglected underneath’.

According to the Rural Services Network, those in predominantly rural areas pay 20% more council tax than those in predominantly urban areas, yet in urban areas, Government-funded spending power is 41% higher.

Mr Smith said: “That spending gap impacts the practical delivery of services. In the northern part of my constituency, the nearest accident and emergency department is an hour and a half away.

"Many children heading out of the constituency for secondary school spend two hours a day travelling to and from school. The village of Pegswood, of 3,000 people, has a doctor for just half a day a week.”

He continued: “Getting around areas such as North Northumberland without a car is extremely difficult. From 2017 to 2022, the distance travelled by bus services in Northumberland fell by over a third.

"The confused status of cross-border buses makes a bad situation worse, with many people around Berwick crossing the Scottish-English border multiple times a week, and having to own multiple bus passes or buy new tickets to change services. Also, the elderly cannot use their free bus pass on both sides of the border.

“Recently, I was made aware of a constituent’s teenage daughter who undertook an apprenticeship across the border in July. Emma – not her real name – lives in Berwick and was catching a bus to and from work; however, just a few weeks later, Borders Buses removed the morning bus.

"This young woman is now relying on taxis to get her to her apprenticeship in the morning. This is costing her family, who are not in a position to afford it, £150 a week. She endured a difficult time at school, but was thriving in her apprenticeship, yet that is now at risk.

“What we need in rural areas is a publicly controlled bus system run for public service, not private profit, with an emphasis on accessibility, affordability and simplicity. That is exactly what the Government are aiming for and what Kim McGuinness, the Labour metro Mayor for the North East, is seeking to introduce.

"No one expects rural Britain to have the same level of public transport as central London, but a reliable network would boost confidence, improve work and school opportunities, and boost struggling communities.”

He revealed frustration at the ‘slow progress’ of plans to rebuild Berwick Academy.

He said: “Berwick does not just need a better school; it needs a school that can generate a revival in a beautiful but isolated town that has no A&E, no major employer and minimal further education.

"Right now, Berwick deserves, and has the opportunity to build, a new world-class educational campus on the secondary school site that combines learning with further education, vocational study, special educational needs provision, local enterprise and primary healthcare. That makes the slow progress of Conservative Northumberland County Council’s plan to rebuild Berwick Academy frustrating for parents, students and the whole community.”

He also spoke about further education opportunities being ‘few and difficult to access’ with some students and families funding daily travel to Newcastle.

On special educational needs, he noted there are 588 children on an education, health and care plan in North Northumberland.

"Many of those with more severe special educational needs face a 100-mile round trip to access adequate education,” he said. “There are not enough specialist schools nearby, or enough specialist places at mainstream schools, to support their learning.”

He acknowledged that until schools improve, and until transport becomes more reliable, healthcare professionals will not move to rural areas.

"For Berwick to have an accident and emergency department, and for North Northumberland to have genuinely local primary care, we must incentivise doctors and nurses to move, with their families, into our neighbourhoods,” he said. “Until they do, rural healthcare will continue to suffer.”

He raised sparse dental care provision, telling MPs: “Imagine someone living alone in Wooler or Rothbury – miles from the nearest NHS dentist – whose tooth starts to twinge.”

He also spoke about ultra-rural communities which do not receive mobile coverage, gas from the mains or even electricity and noted that BT estimates that 1,000 premises in North Northumberland will not benefit from commercial investment in gigabit-capable broadband coverage, because they are simply too hard to reach.

"It is a similar story when it comes to mobile networks,” he said. “I can hear my constituents groaning as they listen to this, because mobile signal comes and goes as we drive up and down the constituency. Ultra-rural settlements cannot take advantage of the digital age because they can barely get online.”

In response, Daniel Zeichner, Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs, said: “The Government are absolutely committed to improving the quality of life for everyone living and working in rural areas, so that we can make a real impact on their everyday lives.”