Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to assess the potential effect on rural communities of a UK withdrawal from the EU.

The UK is still a member of the EU and we will continue to engage with EU business as normal and be engaged in EU decision-making in the usual way.

Once Article 50 is invoked, we will remain bound by EU law until the withdrawal agreement comes into force.

We now have an historic opportunity to deliver an environment for future generations to be proud of, grow our world leading food and farming industry that continues to attract significant global investment and harness the enormous economic potential of our rural communities.