SCHOOLS, hospitals and councils should be forced to "buy local" to limit the impact of looming spending cuts in rural areas, Number 10's rural advocate has suggested.

The Commission for Rural Communities urges civil servants and ministers against "retrenchment" from providing services in the countryside, even though they could be seen as "less popular, less fashionable, and less noticed" than those in urban areas.

In a policy document on the potential impact of cuts, the CRC said any civil servants who does not believe they will have substantially less money in just two years is "living in cloud-cuckoo-land".

The CRC calls on policymakers to "commit to demonstrably fair resource allocations between different local authority and other areas, and also within them".

It comes after years of allegations that rural areas receive less money than urban areas.

Last year, CRC chairman Stuart Burgess told the Western Morning News that government belt-tightening could see public funds redirected to urban areas while the countryside bears the brunt of cuts. "There are going to be pressures about funding," he said. "And if we're not careful – if there is any money around, it's going to be very tight – on the whole it goes to more populated areas where there's a critical mass rather than to those sparsely populated."

In the new report, the CRC said those representing and serving rural communities should "look for opportunities to help local economies prosper and fill the slack created by less public spending, particularly through increased local purchasing".

A number of public bodies in the Westcountry, most notably Cornwall's hospitals, have made a commitment to buying local food to support the region's economy and offer better quality meals.

Controversially, the CRC also backs more unitary councils in rural areas to make savings. It proposed looking for "further efficiencies to be gained in the rural public sector, including unitary authorities and virtual unitary authorities and improving boundary coterminosities – this will demand strong leadership and collaboration".

In Devon, a long-running row rumbles on over proposals to replace the traditional two-tier council system with a single super-council providing all services.

And it warns that a move towards offering more public services online can deliver "large efficiency savings" for but those without high-speed broadband in rural areas can "bring further hardships".

Councils should do more to increase the economic well-being of the people they serve, the CRC added yesterday.

CRC chief executive Sarah McAdam said: "By focusing on economic well-being, local authorities can take a broad view of the contributions that people, businesses and communities make to a healthy economy and society and can take account of the social and environmental impacts of economic activities. We believe this approach is particularly valuable in rural areas."

It singled out the "Pension Extra" Benefit Take Up Campaign lead by the Citizens Advice Bureau in Caradon in Cornwall to help pensioners access the benefits for which they are eligible.