asked Her Majesty's Government:

What assessment has been made of the impact of support programmes for inner city and urban regeneration on rural economic development. [HL3334]

The Government are committed to ensuring that all parts of the country, rural as well as urban, benefit from economic development and increased prosperity. While there has been no specific assessment of the impact of inner city and urban regeneration programmes on rural economic development, the State of the English Cities Report 2006 included comparisons with groups of small towns and rural areas.

This showed that overall growth in employment and number of households in small towns and rural areas rose faster than in groups of larger towns and cities from 1991-2003. The research also showed that, outside of London, small towns and rural areas overall had a higher percentage of the working age population qualified to degree level than in larger towns and cities, and a higher percentage of 15 year-olds with five-plus GCSEs.

The report's findings on the importance of linking opportunities, needs and places in order to further economic competitiveness and tackle social exclusion (for example, by improving the accessibility of unemployed people to jobs) offer potential benefits for both rural and urban areas.

The Government's review of sub-national economic development and regeneration (SNR) recognises the contribution small towns and rural areas can make to the wider regional economy, and as contributors to the economic life of cities rather than merely being beneficiaries of economic activity in cities. The SNR proposal for a new statutory duty on local authorities to assess local economic conditions, and take account of their wider economic area, will assist rural and urban economic development.