Before I call the 31 petitions to be presented, I must explain to the House how we will deal with their large number. Once the first petition relating to the rural fair share campaign has been read to the House, with its prayer, subsequent petitions on the same topic should not be read out in full. Members should give a brief description of the number and location of the petitioners and state that the petition is “in the same terms”. Members presenting more than one petition should present them together.

When a Member has presented a petition, he or she should proceed to the Table and hand it to the Clerk, who will read its title and then hand it back to the Member. He or she should then proceed directly to the petitions bag at the back of the Chair. I will call the next Member immediately after the Clerk has read the title. At the expiry of half an hour, no further petitions may be presented orally, but they may be placed in the petition bag and will be recorded as formally presented. If all Members speak and move swiftly, all 31 petitions should be able to be presented and no one will be left out.

I call Mr Graham Stuart to present his petition.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I also thank Mr Speaker for allowing so many of us to present our petitions this evening. In fact, 119 petitions have been returned from constituencies around the country. Usually, at the close of business, the House empties, but instead, this evening, it has filled up with colleagues who have come to send a strong call from the countryside, a cry from the heart of England. I am delighted to see that the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend Brandon Lewis, are present to hear from us tonight.

Contrary to the myth, rural residents earn less on average than people in cities and pay council tax that is £76 a head higher, yet they see urban areas receive 50% more per head, despite the obvious higher cost of delivering many services in a rural area. We are calling on the Government to make a change; all we ask for is a rural fair share.

The petition states:

The Petition of the residents of Beverley and Holderness,

Declares that the Petitioners believe that the Local Government Finance Settlement is unfair to rural communities; notes that the Rural Penalty sees urban areas receive 50% more support per head than rural areas despite higher costs in rural service delivery; and opposes the planned freezing of this inequity in the 2013–14 settlement for six years until 2020.

The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to reduce the Rural Penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

And the Petitioners remain, etc.

[P001238]

I rise to present a petition in the same terms on behalf of 1,671 of my constituents, who are heartily sickened by this injustice and believe that a 10% improvement by 2020 is the very least that could be done.

The Petition of the residents of North Devon

[P001236]

I congratulate my hon. Friend Mr Stuart on launching this excellent campaign. I am handing in a petition in the same terms as his on behalf of my constituents from the village of St Lawrence. However, they speak on behalf of all the residents of the Maldon district.

The Petition of the residents of Maldon.

[P001235]

I rise to support my hon. Friend Mr Stuart and to hand in a petition in the same terms with 71 signatories from my constituency. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

The Petition of the residents of Shrewsbury and Atcham.

[P001234]

I, too, am handing in a petition in the same terms for more than 200 signatories from my constituency. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

The Petition of the residents of Braintree, Essex.

[P001233]

I am also handing in a petition in the same terms as my hon. Friend Mr Stuart from residents in my constituency.

The Petition of the residents of Harborough.

[P001239]

I, too, am handing in a petition in the same terms for a number of signatories from my constituency. Although my constituency is the City of Durham, it has a large rural area and, critically, is part of Durham county council, a large rural authority that wants its rural fair share.

The Petition of the residents of City of Durham.

[P001240]

I present this petition on behalf of a very large number of my constituents in the same terms as my hon. Friend Mr Stuart.

The Petition of the residents of South East Cornwall

[P001249]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms for 435 signatories from my constituency and another petition also in the same terms on behalf of 812 signatories from the constituency of Weston-super-Mare in pursuit of natural justice for the rural parts of this kingdom.

The Petition of the residents of Weston-Super-Mare Constituency.

[P001247]

The Petition of the residents of North Somerset Constituency.

[P001248]

I rise to hand in a petition in the same terms as that presented by my hon. Friend Mr Stuart signed by 316 of my constituents and praying ever in the like terms.

The Petition of the residents of Sleaford and North Hykeham Parliamentary Constituency.

[P001246]

The petitioners of North East Somerset echo Margaret Thatcher when she went to Europe and said, “We want our money back.” They want their rural fair share in the same terms as my hon. Friend Mr Stuart, and they present their petition with the greatest and humblest respects to the House.

The Petition of the residents of North East Somerset.

[P001244]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms as that of my hon. Friend Mr Stuart for 551 signatories from my constituency, including representations from 29 villages.

The Petition of the resident of South Northamptonshire.

[P001243]

I, too, am handing in a petition in the same terms for a number of signatories from my constituency. The petitioners therefore request the House of Commons to urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

The Petition of the members of Liss Parish Council, Liss, Hampshire.

[P001242]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms from 1,953 petitioners in my constituency.

The Petition of the residents of the Bridgwater and West Somerset Constituency.

[P001250]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms from the Purbeck part of my constituency and other neighbouring Purbeck wards. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

The Petition of the residents of Wareham, Dorset.

[P001251]

It gives me great pleasure to petition the House on behalf of the residents of Thirsk and Malton. They believe that the local government finance settlement is unfair to rural communities, and note that the rural penalty sees urban areas receive 50% more support per head than rural areas, despite higher costs in rural service delivery. May it please the House to note that the Select Committee that I have the honour to chair has recently produced a report on this same issue, and that we have received a very disappointing Government response. I hope that we can link our report to these fair share petitions.

The Petition of the residents of Thirsk and Malton.

[P001252]

I wish to present this important petition from my constituency, much of which comprises the most sparsely populated area of England. It suffers from being linked with a unitary authority and therefore has an even worse rural penalty in some of its rural areas. I draw these matters to the attention of the Secretary of State as I bring the petition to the attention of the House.

The Petition of the residents of Berwick-upon-Tweed constituency.

[P001255]

It is my pleasure to present a petition in the same terms as that presented by my hon. Friend Mr Stuart. It is signed by Mr Peter Osborne and other residents of the villages of Minstead, Lyndhurst, Bartley and Bramshaw in the New Forest East constituency, and it requests that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020.

The Petition of the residents of New Forest East Constituency.

[P001254]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms for 128 signatories from the beautiful town of Pershore and the villages around Bredon Hill in my constituency.

The Petition of the residents of West Worcestershire.

[P001268]

I am presenting a petition in the same terms on behalf of people from Loddiswell and Dartmouth in my constituency, who speak for my entire constituency in recognising that the cost of providing services in rural areas is far higher and that the settlement should be based on age as well as deprivation.

The Petition of the residents of Loddiswell.

[P001258]

I present this petition on behalf of the villages and towns of my constituency. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020. It is delightful to see that the Secretary of State and the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my hon. Friend Brandon Lewis are here tonight to deal with the matter.

The Petition of the residents of Tiverton and Honiton.

[P001259]

I rise to present a petition in the same terms for a number of signatories from the wonderful village of Hatfield Peverel in my beautiful constituency.

The Petition of the residents of Witham, Hatfield Peverel Ward.

[P001261]

I am presenting a petition in the same terms as that of my hon. Friend Mr Stuart on behalf of 490 residents of the Eddisbury constituency in Cheshire. I am totally confident that they represent the tens of thousands of rural and village residents in the Eddisbury parliamentary division.

The Petition of the residents of Eddisbury.

[P001263]

I will be brief so that my remaining colleagues can present their petitions. I am handing in a petition, from a number of constituents in my very beautiful constituency of Truro and Falmouth, in the same terms as the one that has been so well presented by my colleagues.

The Petition of the residents of Truro and Falmouth.

[P001270]

I am handing in this petition in the same terms for a considerable number of constituents from the great, historic constituency of Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk. In particular, the signatories are from the villages around the two towns of Needham Market and Stowmarket. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to reduce the rural penalty in staged steps by at least 10% by 2020. May I add that I trust that Ministers will do a lot better than that?

The Petition of the residents of Bury St Edmunds.

[P001271]

I am handing in a petition in the same terms as those of my hon. Friend Mr Stuart and the 23 other right hon. and hon. Members who have presented their petitions tonight. My constituents, like those in the 119 constituencies that have had similar petitions submitted to the House, simply want a fair deal.

The Petition of the residents of St Austell and Newquay.

[P001266]