On transport, the £2 fare cap has cut rural bus fares by over 11%
and our commitment in our Backing Drivers Bill not to introduce pay per mile road pricing schemes will ensure people who rely on their cars in rural areas are protected.
We will do more to boost the availability of affordable housing for local people in rural areas.
and create a dedicated taskforce in Homes England to deliver on the mission set out in their Rural Housing Statement to invest in regeneration and building high quality homes.
which can cause nuisance to residents and a broader ‘hollowing out’ of communities.
Conservatives will always seek to preserve and enhance the rural way of life.
Further, public arms-length bodies must be responsive to those they serve.
We will improve their accountability and give them clearer objectives to focus on.
In recent years we have seen increasingly extreme wet weather, underlining the importance of building flood resilience.
Since 2010, Government investment has better protected over 600,000 properties from flooding and coastal erosion,
and since 2015, has protected over 900,000 acres of farmland.
In 2020, we announced a doubling of capital funding into flood defences in England to a record £5.6 billion over 2021-2027.
This will work alongside the Flood Recovery Framework and Farming Recovery Fund to directly support communities, businesses and farmers affected by flooding.
Our beautiful countryside, coastline, woods and rivers are a crucial part of what makes our country so special.
We are committed to leaving the environment in a better state for future generations.
We introduced our landmark Environment Act including ambitious targets to halt nature’s decline by 2030 and Biodiversity Net Gain,
a world leading scheme to deliver greener new development.
We led international efforts to protect our oceans and seas, building on the success of the Blue Belt programme which protects an area of ocean the size of India.
whilst ensuring owners are responsible and cracking down on dangerous dogs such as XL Bullies.
and tackling puppy smuggling
and livestock worrying.
Water supply interruptions to customers have decreased five-fold and leakage has been cut by one-third since privatisation.
Last year 90% of our designated bathing waters were classified as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, up from 76% in 2010.
But we must go further.
That is why we set out an ambitious Plan for Water, bringing historic levels of transparency and investment,
while keeping bill increases affordable for consumers.
This will build on our legislation for unlimited fines.
This will create a river recovery network, modelled on our nature recovery network, and create new destinations for people to enjoy across England.
It will take a more local, tailored approach like the plan for the River Wye.
The next five years will see transformational investment and change in the water sector on a scale never seen before, thanks to the introduction of 100% monitoring – up from 7% under the last Labour Government – and targets on leaks and pollution.
This will consider how we move to a more localised catchment-based and outcome-focussed approach, that better utilises nature-based solutions and further strengthens sanctions for water companies that fail to deliver for the public, coasts and rivers.
We are sticking to our ambitious plan to plant more trees.
and continuing our work to unlock private investment.
This will identify particularly suitable areas for tree planting where processes and permits will be streamlined.
We know that spending time outdoors in nature can significantly benefit our health and wellbeing, especially for children.
That is why we set an ambitious commitment for everyone to have access to nature within 15 minutes’ walk of where they live.
We will not impose a universal Right to Roam.
We will deliver our enhanced penalties for fly tipping, giving councils new tools to help tackle offenders.
while working to minimise the impact on businesses and consumers.
This recognises the impact on local communities and that increased recycling rates will reduce the need for incineration capacity in the longer term.
At the core of our national and local identities is culture and sport.
We are proud of our investment in grassroots sports across the country, with over £320 million being delivered between 2021 and 2025 to build, renovate and maintain grass pitches and, multi-sport facilities.
We will look to expand the criteria to ensure more sports benefit from this investment.
and giving them more of a voice through the Independent Football Regulator.
The Conservative Party stands up for women and girls in sport.
We delivered equal access for grassroots sporting facilities for women and girls,
the £30 million Lionesses Futures Fund,
established the Board of Women’s Sport
and are implementing recommendations from the Carney Review of Women’s Football.
We believe apprenticeships are a key pipeline of talent into our world-leading creative industries.