Lord Taylor of Holbeach

The response was published on 20 July 2022, the very day My Noble Friend tabled this question.

Destination Management Organisations have provided vital business support to local tourism organisations during this crisis, and will play a key role in helping our tourism industry recover.

We have long been aware of the arguments in favour of carrying out an independent review of how tourism is structured, organised and funded at a local level in England.

We welcome the report’s publication, and thank Nick de Bois for his work. We will now take time to consider its recommendations and respond to them.

The Spending Review confirmed the DCMS settlement and the Department is currently deciding how to allocate it. The Government encourages DMOs to share information with VisitEngland and DCMS.

We have recently announced the 10 teams that will deliver world class creative projects in urban, rural and coastal communities across the UK in 2022. In partnership with the Festival Company, these teams are now starting pre-production to develop the content of their projects and determine the final locations.

Together, the 10 projects are designed to reach populations throughout the UK. As well as public events there will be learning and participation programmes aimed at engaging local communities and encouraging them, and the rest of the country, to take part. The Festival programme will be announced later this year.

DCMS liaise regularly with Coventry City Council and The Coventry Trust as they are preparing for their tenure as UK City of Culture 2021. This government has already committed over £18.5 million to support Coventry, which includes the recent announcement of £3.5m additional funding which will be used to prepare enhanced covid-19 safety and hygiene methods and provide reassurance to audiences. This government remains committed to working with Coventry City Council and The Coventry Trust to provide continued support throughout 2021 and 2022.

Academies are state-funded schools that have become independent from local authority control. Multi-academy trusts (MATs) are charities that have responsibility for running a number of academies.

Most freestanding pre-schools are private, voluntary, or independent (PVI) childcare providers which are businesses or organisations that are not schools. As such these organisations are not eligible to become academies, and therefore, not able to be included in a MAT in their own right. Schools that become academies in their own right are also currently required by law to have pupils of compulsory school age (aged 5 or above). Other definitions of an academy are set out in the Academies Act 2010.

Therefore, a pre-school would have to be fully constituted as part of a primary school’s academy organisation and provision to be able to be part of its MAT. It would then be subject to the governance arrangements of that MAT. Therefore, it would be for the MAT and the Regional Schools Commissioner to ultimately decide any individual arrangements for that provider and which schools it would be able to work with. Changing these procedures would require a change to primary legislation and there are no current plans to make such a change. The Regional Schools Commissioner for East Midlands and the Humber can be contacted at: emh.rsc@education.gov.uk.

A minority of pre-schools are maintained nursery schools (MNSs), which are an important part of the early years sector and provide valuable services, especially in disadvantaged areas. MNSs come under local authority control but are also currently unable to legally become academies. Originally, when academisation was established as a route for schools, maintained nursery schools were not included. We continue to keep under review the case for enabling maintained nursery schools to convert to academy status and join MATs.

In 2019 the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) received £370,000 for its project “Future Proofing Coastal Tourism Sector”. The project provides support for local businesses in the Greater Lincolnshire area, via the creation of a Coastal Business/Provider Forum. In addition, a range of training courses will be delivered to employed and unemployed people, with the aim of upskilling them in preparation for employment. Coastal Champions will act as role models and link into the LEP Ambassador scheme.

The Coastal Revival Fund helps kick start regeneration of ‘at risk’ coastal heritage that are important to local communities and that have the potential to create opportunities for new economic uses or are facing neglect. As part of this fund, East Lindsey District Council received £50,000 towards the restoration of the Grade II listed Skegness Rockery Gardens.

The Environment Agency actively leads and supports partnership approaches that improve coastal communities across Greater Lincolnshire. This includes guiding planning policy and long-term investment strategies, to delivering high quality defences and a world class flood warning service. For example, the Environment Agency provides an annual beach nourishment scheme which reduces the risk of flooding to over 20,000 homes along the Lincolnshire coast, whilst also providing beaches to help attract visitors and support businesses.

The Lincolnshire Water Management Partnership has identified the coast as a priority, needing a long-term vision to ensure that it adapts to climate change. The Environment Agency is working with local government to develop an adaptation strategy that will optimise prosperity on the coast having regard to the challenge of climate change over the next 100 years. The purpose is to deliver a resilient pattern of spatial development tactically over the next 25 within a strategic view of the next 100 years.

The Environment Agency has also been engaged with the Boston, Connected Coast, and Greater Grimsby Town Deal Boards to help develop and advise on the investment plans and priority projects for the towns. The Town Deals announced in the March 2021 budget confirmed £91.2 million of Government funding for Greater Lincolnshire’s coastal communities including £21.9 million for Boston, £23.9 million for Mablethorpe, £24.5 million for Skegness and £20.9 million for Grimsby.

The English coast has enormous potential and the Government is determined to see it thrive all year round. Our coastal communities support a range of sectors including tourism, fishing and renewable energy. We will support coastal communities to unlock barriers to their development and growth, and to strengthen their appeal as places to live, work and visit.