Rural Areas: Disadvantaged
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department plans to incorporate transport costs, access to services and off-grid energy costs into its assessment of rural deprivation and need.
Answered by Dame Angela Eagle
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) leads on management and publication of the English Indices of Deprivation (IoD). Defra collaborated with MHCLG on a review and update of the indices, published in October 2025. A comprehensive independent literature review identified factors affecting deprivation in rural areas and its measurement which were taken into account in the updated indices. As part of the IoD, MHCLG published a rural report.
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