To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on roads policing provision between urban and rural communities.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what guidance her Department has issued to police forces on roads policing provision between urban and rural communities.

What steps her Department is taking to improve road safety in rural areas.

What steps her Department is taking to improve road safety in rural areas.

The Leader of the House will know that I never miss an opportunity to raise the subject of the state of Staffordshire’s roads, but they may not have heard this variant before. Residents in Church Eaton have reported a sinkhole on their high street. I have seen it. Nobody seems...

The Leader of the House will know that I never miss an opportunity to raise the subject of the state of Staffordshire’s roads, but they may not have heard this variant before. Residents in Church Eaton have reported a sinkhole on their high street. I have seen it. Nobody seems...

My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner for her constituents on the issue of local roads, and I pay tribute to her for that. Her constituents are rightly angry about this issue, and I expect better—well, perhaps I do not, but we ought to—from a Reform county council. I...

My hon. Friend has been a doughty campaigner for her constituents on the issue of local roads, and I pay tribute to her for that. Her constituents are rightly angry about this issue, and I expect better—well, perhaps I do not, but we ought to—from a Reform county council. I...

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve maintenance of rural roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to improve maintenance of rural roads.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the highways maintenance block formula on rural counties such as Suffolk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the highways maintenance block formula on rural counties such as Suffolk.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Road Safety Strategy, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposed rural roads categories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Road Safety Strategy, what recent assessment she has made of the potential merits of the proposed rural roads categories.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the 60mph default speed limit on rural roads on safety; and whether she plans to review this default.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the impact of the 60mph default speed limit on rural roads on safety; and whether she plans to review this default.

My Lords, the memoir of the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, titled Harvest: A Farmer’s Story of Heritage, Home and Hope, has just been published. I notice that she dedicated it:

“To farmers, their families and all those who feed us”.

That is a fitting reminder of the importance of today’s debate. While...

My Lords, the memoir of the noble Baroness, Lady Batters, titled Harvest: A Farmer’s Story of Heritage, Home and Hope, has just been published. I notice that she dedicated it:

“To farmers, their families and all those who feed us”.

That is a fitting reminder of the importance of today’s debate. While...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for bringing forward this important discussion, and I welcome back the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, after a brief interregnum.

To repeat what the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, has said, our rural economy contributes over £240 billion annually and encompasses most of our...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for bringing forward this important discussion, and I welcome back the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, after a brief interregnum.

To repeat what the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh, has said, our rural economy contributes over £240 billion annually and encompasses most of our...

Lords motion to take note of the Government's record on the rural economy. Agreed to on question.

Lords motion to take note of the Government's record on the rural economy. Agreed to on question.

My Lords, I spent yesterday standing in a field in that new spiritual home of British agriculture, Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, for the cereals trade show. Nearly 20,000 farmers, growers, advisers, machinery dealers, drone flyers and, yes—by way of declaration of interest—fertiliser suppliers such as myself, huddled under umbrellas,...

My Lords, I spent yesterday standing in a field in that new spiritual home of British agriculture, Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, for the cereals trade show. Nearly 20,000 farmers, growers, advisers, machinery dealers, drone flyers and, yes—by way of declaration of interest—fertiliser suppliers such as myself, huddled under umbrellas,...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for initiating this debate, but he would not expect me to agree with him on every point he has made. I remind the noble Lord that it was years of austerity that helped to undermine the money going to...

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for initiating this debate, but he would not expect me to agree with him on every point he has made. I remind the noble Lord that it was years of austerity that helped to undermine the money going to...

My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Royall. I am a retired member of a farming family from Somerset producing food and milk with lettings to domestic and commercial tenants. The first thing to say about the rural economy is that it is not...

My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Royall. I am a retired member of a farming family from Somerset producing food and milk with lettings to domestic and commercial tenants. The first thing to say about the rural economy is that it is not...

My Lords, it is great to see my noble friend Lord Roborough back in his place just in time for this important debate. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Fuller on securing it. There is no doubt that the rural economy, just like most of the UK, is struggling. Unfortunately,...

My Lords, it is great to see my noble friend Lord Roborough back in his place just in time for this important debate. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Fuller on securing it. There is no doubt that the rural economy, just like most of the UK, is struggling. Unfortunately,...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. I join her in saying how nice it is to be sitting just behind the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, whose return to the House is, I am sure, welcomed by everybody.

I have a great interest in the subject,...

My Lords, I am delighted to follow the noble Baroness, Lady Coffey. I join her in saying how nice it is to be sitting just behind the noble Lord, Lord Roborough, whose return to the House is, I am sure, welcomed by everybody.

I have a great interest in the subject,...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach, whose knowledge in this area, as we heard, is very considerable. I also declare my farming interests as set out in the register.

So often, Labour Governments present themselves as friends and champions of the...

My Lords, it is a great pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Taylor of Holbeach, whose knowledge in this area, as we heard, is very considerable. I also declare my farming interests as set out in the register.

So often, Labour Governments present themselves as friends and champions of the...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a farmer and the owner of a country estate.

When considering the rural economy—which, after all, consists mainly of people working hard for long hours with little reward, frequently for the good of others—we should remember that the English countryside

does not look like it...

My Lords, I declare my interest as a farmer and the owner of a country estate.

When considering the rural economy—which, after all, consists mainly of people working hard for long hours with little reward, frequently for the good of others—we should remember that the English countryside

does not look like it...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for tabling this debate and declare an interest as a resident of that most rural of counties, Herefordshire.

Last Sunday, I was in my local village hall, on the banks of the River Wye, cooking and serving breakfast for up to 50...

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Fuller, for tabling this debate and declare an interest as a resident of that most rural of counties, Herefordshire.

Last Sunday, I was in my local village hall, on the banks of the River Wye, cooking and serving breakfast for up to 50...

My Lords, I declare at the outset that I live in rural Devon and own a small farm.

This House has a great deal of experience and expertise in farming and rural affairs, as demonstrated in the debate. However, I lament the experience that has been lost with the departure of...

My Lords, I declare at the outset that I live in rural Devon and own a small farm.

This House has a great deal of experience and expertise in farming and rural affairs, as demonstrated in the debate. However, I lament the experience that has been lost with the departure of...