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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the impact of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU on (a) rural communities and (b) the food and drink sector.

Rural development is a devolved matter. Our report “Delivering for Rural England” sets out the key challenges facing rural communities in England and how the Government plans to address them.

The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. The Government has delivered the first free trade agreement the EU has ever reached based on zero tariffs and zero quotas, whilst our recent Food Strategy sets out how we will support a prosperous agri-food sector.