John Stevenson, MP for Carlisle has joined the Rural Business and Rural Powerhouse All Party Parliamentary Group as a member of the committee. The committee examines and scrutinises areas of policy that would reduce the productivity gap between urban and rural areas. Working with industrial bosies, charities academics and business, the APPG produced one of the most comprehensive enquiries ever undertaken by an APPG, ‘Levelling Up the Rural Economy’. Recognising the importance of the rural hinterland to Carlisle, John is intending on building on the recommendations of the report.
This is the seventh APPG that John works with. Others include Food and Drink, Hadrian’s Wall, Key Cities, Nuclear Energy, Taxation and West Coast Mainline.
Commenting John said, “I am delighted to be joining the Rural Business and Rural Powerhouse APPG. The contribution rural businesses make to our national and local economies is vitally important and they deserve the very best help to succeed. If we are to promote the capabilities of the countryside we need to create the right conditions so that businesses which are ready to expand and diversify are helped to do just that, thereby creating good local jobs for more people.”