Rural Communities Debate
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Earl of Devon
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Rural Communities
Earl of Devon Excerpts(4 months, 1 week ago)
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The Earl of Devon (CB)
My Lords, I am grateful to be permitted one minute in reply. I note my interests in rural Devon. I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Elliott of Ballinamallard, another west county farmer, to our Benches.
The reason I did not put my name down to speak today is that I was at Ditchley Park, in Oxfordshire, taking part in a task force on rural retail. I will use the minute I have to emphasise the importance of community shops in rural areas and the huge stress that they are currently under. The supply of food and basic services into rural communities is really stressed. A number of the big wholesalers are no longer supplying these communities, so people who are unable to get outside the community—they may be challenged by mobility or by the cost of transport to bigger areas—are simply unable to get the basic provisions they need, and the larger supermarkets will not deliver into these rural communities. That is all I want to emphasise in my minute, and I hope the Minister can comment on it.