Chapter 1: Introduction
1.In the Committee’s July 2019 report, Review of House of Lords Investigative and Scrutiny Committees, a new procedure was established to follow-up the work of special inquiry committees.1 This report is the Committee’s seventh follow-up inquiry and assesses the progress made on the recommendations reached by the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities report: The future of seaside towns.2
The Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities
2.The Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities was appointed on 17 May 2018.3 In the course of the inquiry the Committee carried out six visits to coastal communities in Clacton-on-Sea and Jaywick, Blackpool and Fleetwood, Margate, Skegness, Cornwall and Scarborough. The Select Committee’s report was published on 4 April 2019.4 The Government response was received on 5 June 20195 and the House of Lords debated the report on 1 July 2019.6
Follow-up work
3.The Committee followed up on the Select Committee’s recommendations in a letter to the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, on 17 March 2021.7 Luke Hall MP, the then Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, provided an update on 16 June 2021.8
4.Lord Bassam of Brighton, the former Chair of the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities, requested a follow-up inquiry and on 17 October 2022 the Committee agreed to carry out follow-up in early 2023.9
5.The Committee held three evidence sessions across 20 and 28 March 2023. The Committee was joined by four former members of the Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities: Lord Bassam of Brighton, Lord McNally, Baroness Valentine and Baroness Wyld. Lord Lucas attended on behalf of Baroness Wyld on 28 March 2023. The names of Members are recorded in Appendix 1 and witnesses in Appendix 2.
6.The Committee also requested written evidence from key stakeholders including the local authorities who were visited by the Select Committee on Regeneration Seaside Towns and Communities. We are grateful to those local authorities who were able to submit written evidence and to all our witnesses and written evidence submitters for their contribution to our inquiry.
7.Although the issues faced by seaside towns and communities are complex and interlinked, the remit of follow-up inquiries is to focus on selected areas and as a result this report considers the following matters:
- Coastal communities policy and coordination;
- Funding and delivery of regeneration;
- Connectivity, both transport and digital;
- Education; and
- Health and wellbeing.
1 Liaison Committee, Review of House of Lords Investigative and Scrutiny Committees: towards a new thematic committee structure (6th Report, Session 2017–19, HL Paper 398), para 98
2 Select Committee on Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities, The future of seaside towns (Report of Session 2017–19, HL Paper 320)
3 Liaison Committee, New ad hoc Committees in 2018–19 (2nd Report, Session 2017–19, HL Paper 103)
5 Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Government response to the Report of Session 2017–19 of House of Lords’ Regenerating Seaside Towns and Communities Select Committee on The Future of Seaside Towns, CP 102 (5 June 2019): https://www.parliament.uk/globalassets/documents/lords-committees/Regenerating-Seaside-Towns/Government_response.pdf [accessed 28 June 2023]
6 HL Deb, 1 July 2019, cols 1279–1330
7 Letter from the Rt Hon. the Lord McFall of Alcluith, the then Chair of the Liaison Committee, to the Rt Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, the then Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (17 March 2021): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/5130/documents/50651/default/
8 Letter from Luke Hall MP, the then Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, to Lord Gardiner of Kimble, Chair of the Liaison Committee (16 June 2021): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/6637/documents/71493/default/
9 Liaison Committee, Decisions Document (17 October 2022): https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/33285/documents/180178/default/ [accessed 15 May 2023]