Environment secretary Margaret Beckett has heralded an end of the "one size fits all" policy for rural England.

The comments came as she outlined the government's latest thinking on key rural issues.

Beckett's speech came ahead of a major report, tipped to be published later this month, by rural tsar Lord Haskins.

He has been reviewing Whitehall's arrangements for delivering rural policies.

Haskins is expected to propose a radical decentralisation of the powers and functions of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, along with many of its associated agencies.

And the Cabinet minister indicated that this approach is set to win her backing, despite requiring a radical overhaul of her Whitehall fiefdom.

"Rural England is large and diverse - we cannot operate a one size fits all policy," said Beckett.

"Our priority must be to focus on those areas and people who need help the most.

"The variation in the economic, social and environmental conditions between different communities must be a central focus for us all."

Under the plan English Nature and the Countryside Agency are set to see many of their key functions transferred into a new body, provisionally entitled the Land Management Agency.

But Beckett sought to play down these fears.

"I also want to make clear that I recognise the benefits of agencies that provide an independent voice for important issues such as biodiversity and rural concerns. Our approach must preserve and strengthen these voices," she said.

Critics fear that any shake-up could paralyse the agencies at a time when major construction programmes, such as the expansion of road and airport capacity, are on the cards.

The need to tackle social exclusion in rural areas was also a major concern. Plans to boost the rural economy will be central to government policies, Beckett assured her audience.

"We have achieved a lot since the rural white paper was published three years ago," said Beckett.

"Taken as a whole, the quality of life for those living in rural areas is better on a number of key indicators than their urban counterparts.

"But the progress we have made has thrown into sharper relief the challenges that remain: there are many prosperous rural areas, but there are also many serious structural problems, especially in more remote areas."

An updated rural strategy, taking stakeholder views into account, is due to be published early next year.