Committee publication · Correspondence · 20 May 2026
Correspondence from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport relating to rural proofing policies, dated 12 January 2026
Summary
Baroness Twycross (DCMS Minister) responds to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee's December 2025 inquiry on rural proofing policies. DCMS outlines its approach to ensuring rural communities benefit fairly from policy-making, citing systematic use of deprivation and community need indices, staff training, and specific funding commitments including £5 billion for neighbourhood services, £2.3 billion for local transport in smaller towns and rural areas, and support for heritage, culture, and library provision in rural communities.
Key findings
- DCMS uses the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) and Community Needs Index (CNI) to identify rural areas requiring targeted support, with particular focus on 'double disadvantage' areas combining high deprivation and low social capital.
- Government committed £5 billion through Pride in Place Programme for neighbourhood services tailored to rural needs, and £2.3 billion Local Transport Grant for smaller cities, towns and rural areas.
- Heritage conservation in rural areas receives £20 million annually from agri-environment schemes; 78% of Scheduled Monuments and 67% of Registered Parks and Gardens are on agricultural land.
- Arts Council England distributing £39.5 million to 50 organisations over three years; National Lottery Heritage Fund investing £150 million over 10 years in landscape and habitat recovery.
- DCMS launched UK Town of Culture competition targeting small and medium-sized towns in rural areas; VisitEngland launching first domestic campaign in four years featuring North West coastal communities in 2026.
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Baroness Twycross, Alistair Carmichael MP, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), Historic England, Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund, VisitBritain/VisitEngland
Notable line
“Rural communities play a vital role in our national economy, with rural areas home to around one-fifth of England's population and half a million registered businesses.”
Key Quotes
“Rural proofing ensures that these areas receive fair and equitable policy outcomes.”
“The 'Better policy making - understanding rural areas' module, which helps improve understanding of the implications of policy making in rural areas, is accessible to all DCMS staff via the Civil Service Learning platform.”
“While all areas will receive a targeted and coordinated offer from central government, the services and projects developed will look different in rural communities and coastal towns compared to deprived inner cities.”
“Young people have told us that one of the key barriers to accessing spaces is physically getting there.”
“Agri-environment schemes, funded by DEFRA, have contributed around £20 million a year to support the conservation and maintenance of our rural heritage …”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗