The government has marginalised rural communities, a committee of MPs has claimed.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’ (Defra) had made the environment its number one priority but should now focus on rural affairs, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Having spoken to government departments and agencies, businesses, farmers’ bodies and campaign organisations, the Commons environment, food and rural affairs committee said there was “a strong perception amongst those involved that rural affairs are being marginalised in Defra”.

Committee chairman Michael Jack said the department should use the recent cabinet reshuffle, which gave responsibility for climate change to a new department, as an opportunity to “raise its game on rural affairs”.

“With climate change gone from Hilary Benn's in-tray his department must spend more time banging heads together across Whitehall to really make thorough ‘rural proofing’ of government policy a reality.”

The committee said the department’s strategic objective of strong rural communities was “confusing and not easily understood”.

MPs were also concerned that rural affairs were not the subject of a cross-department public service agreement and they claimed that areas such as transport, communications, planning and further education were “not adequately addressed”.

The committee said the department would depend heavily on other public sector organisations to achieve its objectives and MPs called on officials to set out what it needed from those bodies.

A Defra spokesman said the department was already working with other departments to ensure they’re policies supported local communities.

In a statement, rural affairs minister Huw Irranca-Davies said: “Rural communities often have specific, additional needs, which is why the government rural proofs its policies – ensuring those special circumstances are understood and taken into account.”