Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his department has to bring forward a strategy to grow the economies of coastal communities.

My department is committed to supporting coastal communities flourish, strengthening their appeal as places to live, work and visit.

Through our Coastal Communities Fund, which ran until this year, we supported a huge number of projects in communities across the country, with a total investment of £187 million. We recently published the evaluation which showed how it stimulated job growth and prosperity in those areas.

Coastal communities continue to receive investment from our funding programmes, including 22 places that are receiving Town Deals collectively worth over £673 million. The Levelling Up Fund offers investment opportunities for coastal communities to promote regeneration and build vital infrastructure. The £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund - where growing the private sector in localities is a core objective - is being delivered through an allocative process that reaches every part of the UK.