The government has been criticised by its own advisers for doing the "minimum necessary" in countryside policy.

The warning comes from the Countryside Agency which says only half of Whitehall departments have done more than the bare minimum to support the countryside.

Forum Response: Countryside Agency

Ewen Cameron, chairman of the Countryside Agency, told ePolitix.com: "It was a bold move by the government to commit itself to rural proof its own policy making. In our first annual report on how well it is doing in putting the needs of the countryside at the heart of Whitehall, most Departments have put the basic building blocks in place for rural proofing, and half are doing more.

"If rural proofing is to be a systematic part of policy making, as promised in the Rural White Paper, all departments should aspire to the standards of the best.

"We know it can be done. The Sure Start initiative for under-fours has shown promising results. But, I am convinced that policy makers generally need to do more to give sufficient thought to the impact on the countryside, and the people who live there.

"I have seen little sign of a fundamental shift in departmental policies. Some important parts of government, such as those dealing with social exclusion, have a long way to go before they can convince me that they are fully reflecting the needs of rural people.

"More than one in five people live in rural England. On my visits around the country, people tell me they are worried about the lack of affordable housing, continuing post office closures, problems accessing the doctor or dentist, difficulties with public transport, bureaucratic red tape faced by rural entrepreneurs and communities, and magistrates' courts closures.

"Dealing with the impact of foot and mouth was, understandably, a top priority during the last year. If real results are to be achieved in future, rural proofing must become automatic. Only then we shall start to see outcomes in the shape of service delivery that meets the needs of rural people."

Forum Response: Country Land and Business Association

Sir Edward Greenwell, president of the Country Land and Business Association, told ePolitix.com: "We congratulate the Countryside Agency on their honest and hard hitting report into the rural proofing of government policy by Whitehall departments.

"Progress has started along the right lines but it is quite apparent that most departments have done little more than reach a minimal baseline and are not yet making rural considerations an integral part of policy making. It goes without saying that the real work is yet to be done.

"No-one can be in any doubt now about how significant a role the countryside plays in the economic well-being of the UK and so the real questions will come next year when we shall assess whether any of the lessons of FMD have been absorbed and applied to key areas of government policy, such as the 2002 Spending Review, and consequently whether this government is to be taken seriously on rural issues.

"The countryside's 14 million population and half a million businesses are watching with interest."