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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the robustness of rural proofing in Government policy.

The Government has made a commitment that all policy decision-making should be rural proofed, ensuring that rural areas are not overlooked and that the intended outcomes are deliverable in rural areas. Defra leads on rural proofing, but individual departments are responsible for ensuring that their policy decision-making is seen through this lens.