The government's Rural Advocate, Dr Stuart Burgess (pictured), in a report to the Prime Minister, is urging the delivery of more affordable rural housing, a strengthening of the rural economy and better support for rural voluntary and community action.

Speaking about his report Dr Burgess said: "Rural life can offer great advantages and I have seen many examples of real community spirit and creative solutions to problems. But I have also witnessed people in real hardship and struggling to get by.

"The lack of affordable homes to rent and to buy continues to be the single biggest issue highlighted to me on my visits.

"I heard about growing numbers of people not qualifying for social housing, but not earning enough to afford to buy a house either. I have also witnessed the willingness of communities to come together to tackle the problem and to explore the potential of initiatives such as community land trusts to meet local housing needs.

"There is a lot that could still be done. I welcome the attention by government to tackling this problem in the Housing Green Paper but the promise of specific rural targets for affordable housing needs to be reflected in regional and local strategies and plans.

"I have also drawn attention to the severe difficulties faced by the farming community in the wake of the animal disease outbreaks.

"The countryside is also facing significant demographic change, causing rural communities genuine concern about their future viability. There are now nearly 400,000 fewer young people aged 15-29 in rural areas than there were 20 years ago, and at the other end of the spectrum the average age of rural people is getting three months older every year. This will have a major impact on the future provision of services."

In his report Dr Burgess sets out a wide-ranging package of actions where leadership from government is required to tackle the issues people have raised with him to ensure that rural areas continue to thrive. His recommendations range from calling for a standing recovery fund to help businesses maintain and restore activity after future environmental and disease events, to encouraging rural communities to contribute to tackling climate change.