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Mrs. Curtis-Thomas
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make a statement on the development of the rural economy in Sefton. [116612]
Alun Michael
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs uses the agreed Office for National Statistics (ONS) definition of rural available at: http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/metadata. asp?dsno=52. Using the ONS definition, Sefton is a predominantly urban district, with only 2 of its 23 wards defined as rural. Defra does not monitor economic performance at individual ward level but these wards benefit from the rural component of the Merseyside Objective 1 Programme.