HC Deb 16 January 2002 vol 378 cc373-4W
Mr. Drew

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will publish the terms of reference for the Rural Affairs Forum. [27658]

Alun Michael

The Rural Affairs Forum for England was set up to implement the Government's commitment in their Rural White Paper of December 2000 to establish a national sounding board so that Ministers "have regular and direct contact with the main rural groups so that they know what is going on and what countryside people think". It will be for the forum itself to define its priorities and agenda for action.

The forum met for the first time on 9 January. Following extensive consultation with rural stakeholders, its members were chosen to represent a wide range of rural organisations, people, and perspectives, including economic, social and environmental interests. Each regional rural affairs forum will be represented on the national forum.

The forum had a useful preliminary discussion of its work programme at its first meeting and it is clear that the forum will wish to identify issues of concern to rural people and businesses; to give views on proposed Government policies as they affect rural areas; to review the implementation of the Rural White Paper, and suggest where further policy development may be needed to deliver its objectives; and to review the quality of public services in rural areas and make recommendations for how they might be improved.

The forum has agreed to some regular items of business, including consideration of the Countryside Agency's annual State of the Countryside report on its overview of Government Departments' reports on "rural-proofing" of their policies. It will also consider other issues that its members, Ministers or the rural advocate may raise. These may include matters referred to it by a regional rural affairs forum or by the England Rural Development Programme (ERDP) Consultation Group. Reports from the forum will go to Ministers and to the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Rural Renewal.

Members agreed that the full forum should normally meet four times a year, and set up sub-groups as needed. These are likely to involve a wider range of stakeholders than those directly represented on the forum.