WILTSHIRE organisations which work to safeguard the countryside have responded to the findings of a House of Lords committee which claims the Government is failing rural communities.

Lord Cameron, chairman of the select committee on the natural environment and rural communities has issued a statement recommending that rural affairs should be transferred from the department for environment, food and rural affairs to the ministry for housing, communities and local government.

Anne Henshaw chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Wiltshire said: "DEFRA has been relegated to a minor department for some time. The ministry for housing communities and local government is a very powerful department."

But she said the parliament should concentrate more on the E for environment in DEFRA and less on the LG for local government.

She favoured a new strategic department being set up as suggested last year. She said "Lord Deben, former secretary of state for the Environment and minster of MAFF proposed in 2017 that a new department should be created which concentrates on strategic elements of planning, environment, infrastructure and agriculture as a cohesive whole which would enable us to decide what kind of country we want to leave to our grandchildren."

Dr Gary Mantle chief executive of the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust also responded to Lord Cameron's statement saying: "We are pleased to see that the decline in biodiversity is recognised in this report, and agree that the duty on public bodies to have regard for biodiversity must be stronger.

"As recognised by Michael Gove, it is essential that there is a world-leading environmental watchdog, an independent, statutory body, to hold Government to account for upholding environmental standards. The Wildlife Trusts are calling for a new Environment Act and sufficient resources, to underpin this."

Lord Cameron said in his statement: "Over the course of 12 years the Government has diminished the resources given to departments and bodies which protect the UK’s natural environment and promote the needs of rural communities.

"This has had a profound, negative impact on England’s biodiversity and the social and economic welfare of rural areas, and must be reversed."

The Committee found that there has been a consistent failure, over a number of years to prioritise the rural affairs element of the departmental remit of Defra. It said the focus of the department has been consumed by its work on agriculture and the environment and this will only intensify as a result of Brexit. The lives of those who live in the countryside have been neglected as a result.

It also claimed that Natural England has lost its independence and influence, and has insufficient resources to deliver its full range of environmental objectives. It said this is due to persistent funding cuts and increasing central control, which are limiting its ability to fulfil its general purpose. Key tasks, such as the promotion of public access to the countryside and the protection of important landscapes, are being diminished as a result.

The report said: "The Government must address this situation urgently and the committee recommends that Natural England should be properly resourced so it can deliver effectively its full range of statutory duties and responsibilities."