§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will make a statement on the Government's definition of a rural area. [136727]
§ Mr. MeacherThe Government have no single definition of a rural area. But different definitions are used for different policy purposes to ensure that policies are sensitive to differing circumstances and to ensure administrative efficiency.
The Countryside Agency, which is the Government's statutory adviser on issues relating to the environmental, economic and social well being of the English countryside currently uses a working definition of rural areas as those wards which lie outside settlements of 10,000 people.
§ Mr. YeoTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions how many people in England live in settlements of between 2,000 and 20,000, and, of this number, how many live in settlements of 10,000 or more. [136719]
§ Mr. MeacherIn 1991 the population living in settlements in England of the following size was:
- Settlements of 2,000–20,000: 6,890,253
- Settlements of 10,000–20,000: 2,682,336 (included in above)
These figures are taken from the 1991 Urban Area statistics. More recent information is not currently available.