Blog | Jessica's Rural Words

February 23 2023

What does the future public service workforce look like?

Back in July 2022 the House of Lords Public Services Committee published its report ‘Fit for the future? Rethinking the public services workforce’. This identified how public sector staffing was “facing a crisis” due to a “vicious circle” of increasing demand, staff shortages, low morale and recruitment issues. What does this crisis mean for rural […]

January 13 2023

Exploring Rural Content in Public Service Media

Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests. Ofcom, the UK’s communications regulator, requires these broadcasters to fulfil certain requirements as part of their licence to broadcast. How do PSBs reflect rural communities and perspectives in their programming and outputs? Jessica Sellick investigates. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. What […]

December 13 2022

Is remote and flexible working the ‘new normal’?

Coronavirus lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 saw many employees compelled to work from home. While employers have had different perspectives on employees returning to their offices and places of work since then, the pandemic has accelerated discussion around more flexible working. What do these new and emerging work patterns mean for the future of work […]

November 15 2022

Mind the [rural] gender health gap?

While women in the UK are living longer than men, many are spending a greater proportion of their lives in ill-health and disability. Women make up 51% of the population yet they are often under-represented in the health and care system which has tended to focus less on women-specific issues (e.g. miscarriage, menopause) or how […]

October 18 2022

What does the unification of probation services mean for rural areas?

More than 200,000 are people under the supervision of probation services at any one time. Back in 2019 the Secretary of State for Justice announced a new model for probation services in England and Wales. Since June 2021, all sentence management for low, medium and high-risk offenders has been carried out by a national Probation […]