The petition of residents of Arundel and the South Downs,
Declares that the UK’s rural traditions and heritage are of great importance in preserving our natural landscapes and the wider economy.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to bring forward measures to actively support rural areas, farming, traditional country sports (including trail hunting and shooting) and the equestrian sector.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Andrew Griffith, Official Report, 24 June 2026; Vol. 788, c. 465.]
[P003212]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Jenny Riddell-Carpenter):
This Government are committed to supporting rural areas.
On 16 July, we published the “Future of Rural England” report. The report was drafted by a DEFRA-led rural taskforce, which was established to work with external partners and Departments across Whitehall to better understand how the Government can support rural businesses and communities, tackle rural disadvantage, and unlock the potential of the rural economy. It identified six themes critical to thriving, inclusive and sustainable rural communities: economic growth and productivity; infrastructure and housing; skills and education; health and wellbeing; safety and community resilience; and connectivity.
A new cross-Government board will put rural needs at the heart of major policies to help unlock rural potential, with annual public reporting on progress, marking a decisive shift to proactive, joined-up working across Government.
Previous Governments have been criticised for only considering rural communities’ needs at the end of the policymaking process. We are committed to a more proactive approach, where rural communities’ needs are considered at every juncture. Underpinning this new approach, DEFRA is conducting wide-ranging policy research, to deepen the Government’s understanding of the policy interventions that can help rural communities to thrive.
We are supporting farm businesses to be profitable, productive, sustainable, and resilient for the long term. DEFRA’s farming road map, published in June 2026, will give farmers clearer long-term direction to plan, invest, reduce input costs, adapt to climate and market volatility, and secure a sustainable future for British agriculture.
We have allocated a record £11.8 billion to support sustainable farming and food production. This includes sustainable farming incentive 2026, which has been made simpler, fairer and more accessible. Window 1 of the scheme, giving priority access to small farms and farms so far without an environmental land management revenue agreement, opened for applications on 30 June, and window 2—for all farms—will open in September.
We are partnering with farmers to strengthen sector growth, ensure markets work fairly, and support productivity and innovation. The Farming and Food Partnership Board will bring Government and industry together to strengthen supply chains and open clearer routes to market. Sector growth plans for horticulture and poultry are already in development.
Furthermore, in 2026-27, DEFRA is providing targeted funding to support rural communities and businesses. This includes £2.3 million through the rural housing enabler programme and £1.7 million through the local action grant.
Wider Government funding addresses the key blockers to growth in rural areas including over £1.9 billion over four years for broadband and 4G connectivity, £2.3 billion of local transport grant funding for smaller cities, towns and rural areas, and £39 billion for the social and affordable homes programme, which includes flexibility in grant rates to help ensure that rural developments receive the support they require.
The Government’s small and medium-sized enterprise plan has outlined the steps we are taking to make thriving small and medium-sized businesses a reality across the UK. The plan includes a range of measures to support the over 500,000 small and medium-sized businesses in rural areas.
Through the clean power action plan, we have made it clear that where communities host clean energy infrastructure, we will ensure they benefit from it. We have already announced bill discounts for communities living nearest to new electricity transmission infrastructure. The Government are exploring options to ensure that communities directly benefit from the low-carbon energy infrastructure they host.
The Bus Services Act 2025 empowers local leaders to deliver services that meet the needs of their communities, including in rural areas. The spending review confirmed over £3 billion to maintain and improve bus services, including nearly £700 million a year for local authorities with consideration to the proportion of rural communities.
We recognise the importance of tackling crime in rural areas. That is why we have worked with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to deliver a renewed rural and wildlife crime strategy, which was published in November 2025.
On digital connectivity, the Government are committed to ensuring that 99% of premises receive gigabit coverage by 2032. Delivered by Building Digital UK, part of the Department for Science, Information and Technology, Project Gigabit is delivering gigabit-capable broadband to UK premises, predominantly in rural areas, that are not included in suppliers’ commercial plans. As of the end of September 2025, over 1.3 million premises in hard-to-reach communities across the UK had been upgraded to gigabit-capable broadband through Government-funded programmes.
We are working with the UK’s main mobile network operators to improve poor mobile signal in rural areas via the shared rural network, which is delivering 4G coverage to places where there is either limited 4G coverage or no 4G coverage at all.
This Government are committed to enacting an effective, enforceable ban on trail hunting that protects our countryside, wildlife and rural communities. On 18 June 2026, DEFRA closed its 12-week consultation that sought views on how to deliver a ban in England and Wales. All responses to the consultation will be considered carefully in developing proposals for a ban. A summary of responses to the consultation will be published in due course.
We have no plans to ban the breeding, release or shooting of gamebirds. However, gamebird shooting can have trade-offs with environmental, economic, and animal health and welfare outcomes, and we want to ensure that the highest standards of practice are consistently applied. To achieve this, DEFRA will work with stakeholders to explore wider measures, and this will begin with evidence gathering. Any proposed changes will be subject to public consultation.
We are committed to not leaving rural England behind and we have a clear goal of well-connected communities that feel supported to reach their full potential, with access to opportunities and public services they can rely on, and the confidence to plan and invest for the future.