§ Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to her answer of 21 November 2001,Official Report, column 322W, on market towns, what has been the progress of the Countryside Research Project to assess the health and viability of market towns; and if she will make a statement on the different economic and social indicators that are being considered. [18778]
1021W
§ Alun MichaelThe Research Project was let in January 2001 and progress to date has been towards a methodological approach to developing a national headline indicator. The broad scope of the work has been to focus on the key influencing attributes of market towns including: size and spacing of market towns; urban/rural shift of economic activity; the economic base of market towns; and the clustering of economic activity. In addition, considerable work has gone into examining market towns in relation to the Index of Deprivation 2000.