The Yorkshire Post reports that Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey has backed a key policy of the Country Land and Business Association’s (CLA) Rural Powerhouse campaign to create a senior cross departmental Minister for Rural Communities

His comments at the CLA’s annual Rural Business Conference in London, were heard by DEFRA Secretary Dr Thérèse Coffey, farming minister Mark Spencer and more than 400 CLA members.

He warned that a culture of government departments passing the buck has led to “the neglect we are now witnessing of rural communities”.

In a damning address, Sir Ed Davey, said: “We need to start with a change to the way the Government thinks about rural communities. Siloing off ‘rural affairs’ in DEFRA plainly isn’t working.

It leads to the neglect we are now witnessing of rural communities across government”.

It follows a publication earlier this year of a major report by the All Party Parliamentary Group for the Rural Powerhouse, which called for structural change in how Government approaches the rural economy.

It set out an economic blueprint to revitalise the rural economy, potentially to the tune of £43bn. The report concluded that no government in recent memory has had a program to unlock the economic and social potential of the countryside.

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The Yorkshire Post - Lib Dem leader calls for new rural communities minister following DEFRA "neglect" of countryside