Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what action are they taking to deal with the problems faced by coastal communities.

This Government recognises that coastal communities face a range of economic, environmental and social challenges and is committed to making them better places to live, work and visit. We set up the Coastal Communities Fund in 2012 to support economic growth and jobs in coastal areas across the UK.

The Fund is open to public, private and voluntary sector applicants and supports a wide range of projects to help build stronger, more diverse coastal communities. They include schemes to improve infrastructure, regenerate seaside town centres and heritage and leisure facilities, provide skills, training and advice, and create workspace for new businesses and social enterprises.

To date, the Fund has provided £65 million in grants to 117 projects across UK, levering in over £103 million of other funding and delivering over 8,900 jobs, nearly 4,000 training places and apprenticeships over 400 new business start-ups.

Coastal Communities are also benefitting from the changes we’re making to local areas to take control and act in the best interests of their local community through a wide range of powers, freedoms and flexibilities to help drive growth and jobs. Nineteen of the 39 joint local authority/ private sector led Local Enterprise Partnerships cover coastal areas. As part of the Growth Deals announced in July we have committed over £500 million to projects put forward by the coastal Local Enterprise Partnerships.

Eight out of the 24 Enterprise Zones the Government has created in Local Enterprise Partnerships include coastal locations. These coastal Enterprise Zones have delivered nearly 5,000 jobs to date and secured over £200 million of private investment.

We have enabled local areas to adapt their high streets to meet changing consumer demands by funding 8 Portas Pilots and over 50 Town Teams in coastal towns.

We are also on course to invest more than £3.2 billion in flood and coastal erosion risk management works in England from April 2010 to March 2015. This funding will improve forecasting and early warning systems, maintain flood defences and improve flood protection for 165,000 households.

In July, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Penny Mordaunt) was appointed as Minister for Coastal Communities to help coastal places realise their potential and build a sustainable future for themselves.