Mrs. MichieTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on his policy on rural deprivation, in the light of the report submitted to him by Mr. Brian McLaughlin on the subject of deprivation in rural areas.
§ Mr. MoynihanThe rural enterprise package, published in March last year, set out the Government's policy on the rural economy. The Development Commission is the principal agency for carrying forward that policy in England, and we are encouraging it to develop and implement a range of initiatives for improving economic and social conditions in the countryside.