Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on developing a cross-government strategy to help tackle rural poverty.

Defra Ministers regularly engage with other Government departments on a range of issues impacting rural communities.

In April 2025, Defra established a Rural Taskforce to better understand how government can support rural businesses and communities, tackle rural disadvantage, and unlock the potential of the rural economy. The Taskforce brought together Government departments and external partners to consider the potential opportunities and challenges in rural areas for delivering growth and supporting sustainable rural communities.

The Rural Taskforce delivered recommendations on how Government can deliver on its ambition for thriving, inclusive and sustainable rural communities by 2030. This will feed into a report which Defra intends to publish in the coming months.