Select Committee on Communities and Local Government Committee First Report


Appendix 2: Letter to the Rt Hon. Hazel Blears MP, Secretary of State, Communities and Local Government

I am writing on behalf of the Communities and Local Government Committee to express my Committee's deep dissatisfaction with the Government's response to our report on Coastal Towns. The response appeared to fail to grasp the central premise of our report, that many coastal towns face significant challenges based on their combination of characteristics, and that as such coastal towns warrant specific attention and action by Government to address their challenges.

My Committee's dissatisfaction reflects that felt by many other MPs and organisations. The British Resorts and Destinations Association (BRADA) has written to us on behalf of its members to express its displeasure and states that in its view, the Government's reply "offers little or nothing new; agreeing only with those few things which had no actual Government duty or action attached".

The level of participation in the Westminster Hall debate on my Committee's report reflects the level of concern over the Government's approach to coastal communities and the issues we raise in the report. During this debate several MPs voiced their dissatisfaction quite strongly. Mr Gordon Marsden MP stated, "I see no reason why the Government should not go back and think a little bit more about the recommendations of the Committee. Some of the details of the response strike me as rather complacent".[5] Shona McIsaac MP viewed the Government's response as fragmented and incoherent.[6]

The unfocused nature of the response seems at odds with the Prime Minister's recent comments: he said "Because the focus is sometimes on inner-city regeneration, people forget that some coastal towns have large numbers of people who are either socially excluded or unemployed and that such local economies can be difficult. It is precisely for that reason that we are looking at what more we can do to support our coastal towns".[7] Similarly, Mark Simmons MP called for the Government to take action to support coastal towns just as it has done for inner cities; stating "we have the same problems, exacerbated by distances, isolation, an ageing population and declining public services, including transport".[8]

In light of this debate and the strength of feeling on the matter, I invite you to provide a further, more considered response to my Committee's report and in particular our recommendations on worklessness, seasonal employment and co-ordination of policy.

We drew attention to the Government's own statistics which showed a disproportionately high rise in the number of people claiming sickness and disability benefits in coastal towns. These statistics show that since 1997 there has been a 2.2 per cent increase in the number of people claiming incapacity benefit, special disability allowance or income support for disability but a 12.3 per cent rise in the number of claimants in coastal towns (paras 48-53). The Government does not dispute these statistics but rather belittles our conclusion, countering with other statistics that avoid dealing directly with our central premise on this issue. I do not disagree with the information provided but the Government needs to give greater consideration to our recommendation that this trend be investigated. It is not unrealistic to expect the Government to conduct research into benefit dependency in coastal towns given the hard evidence we provided.

The second area in relation to the economy that I would like to urge you to reconsider is the response given on seasonal work. My Committee called for Government recognition of the significance of seasonal work in coastal towns, and for this to be considered by national policy-makers given the economic and social challenges this brings to coastal towns. Our recommendations were based on clear evidence demonstrating that seasonal work in coastal towns was more than double the English average.[9] The response disregards the substantive body of evidence that demonstrates that seasonal work is significant in coastal towns. Indeed, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Angela Smith MP, in the Westminster Hall debate showed recognition of the problems seasonal work stating, "Hon. Members also referred to low skills, low pay and seasonal employment. There is an urgent need to tackle those problems".[10] Given that the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State has recognised that seasonal work is a problem that needs to be tackled I would be grateful if you could clarify whether this view is shared by the rest of Government and the action that will be taken to ensure that this is reflected in the work of Government departments.

The third issue that I wish to draw to your attention specifically is the Government's rejection of our recommendation for a cross-departmental working group to be established to examine the implication of policy for coastal towns and how to address best the needs of coastal communities. This is an entirely reasonable and proportionate request given the cross-cutting nature of the challenges faced in coastal towns and the body of evidence that my Committee has presented on the common challenges faced by many coastal towns. As Mr Gordon Marsden MP pointed out that "we do not need to create an enormous, expensive bureaucracy to ensure that a few civil servants from some of the main Government Departments can sit down together two or three times a year to discuss an agenda put to them by BURA, BRADA or other outside groups to look at some of these issues".[11]

Dr Phyllis Starkey, Chair

Communities and Local Government Committee

19 July 2007



5   HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 150WH [Westminster Hall] Back

6   HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 161WH [Westminster Hall] Back

7   Official Report, 6 June 2007; Vol. 461, c.254. Back

8   HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 176WH [Westminster Hall] Back

9   Communities and Local Government Committee, Second Report of Session 2006-07, Coastal Towns, HC 351, para 64 Back

10   HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 187WH [Westminster Hall] Back

11   HC Deb, 7 June 2007, col 151WH [Westminster Hall] Back


 
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