Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to improve productivity in the rural economy; and if she will make a statement.

George Eustace, Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment: Defra is improving productivity in the rural economy through a number of measures, including:

• through the Rural Development Programme in England investing in rural businesses and supporting the farming, food and forestry sectors to access new technology;
• working with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to achieve the Government’s commitment to treble the number of apprenticeships in food, farming and agri-tech;
• working across Government, investing around £780m in the Superfast Broadband Programme to provide 95% of UK premises with superfast broadband by the end of 2017. We are exploring options to extend superfast coverage beyond the current 95% target;
• supporting Food Enterprise Zones, which will help unlock the potential of local food and farming businesses, boosting local economies and attracting more investment; and
• enabling food producers to further benefit from their local roots by supporting the expansion of Protected Food Names and the expansion of Country of Origin Labelling.