§ Lord Pattenasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 5 February (WA 83), when they will announce the better set of definitions for urban and rural areas; and [HL2877]
241WAFurther to the Written Answer by Lord Whitty on 5 February (WA 83), whether, for the time being, Ministers will define what they mean by rural when making announcements. [HL2878]
§ Lord WhittyAs we have made clear previously, the term "rural" can have a variety of applications in relation to landscape or land use or socio-economic issues. It would be convenient to have a single definition, but it might well fail to reflect reality and prove inflexible. We are working towards a better definition of urban and rural areas as explained in my Answer (WA 83; 5 February). For statistical purposes we generally use the definition developed by the Countryside Agency and where any other definition is being used we will endeavour to make that clear.