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

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 May 2016 to Question 36275, if he will make it his policy to ensure that disbursements from the Coastal Communities Fund are allocated to the regions of England on the basis of population share.

Our policy is that every coastal community should have the chance to bid for a share of the Coastal Communities Fund to help them with projects that will have a real and lasting impact on their local economy. The 118 Coastal Community Teams (CCTs) in England now provide an important new local context for considering these bids, so that the Fund helps to deliver community-led Economic Plans. Each bid is considered on its merits and allocating the Fund to regions on the basis of their population share would not necessarily ensure best value for money.