Coastal areas need help to overturn inequalities, report says

The BBC reports that ministers have been called on to do more to help struggling coastal communities across England with levelling-up policies at risk of failing to turn around decades of inequality

A new report - called Communities on the Edge – found that nearly one in five jobs pay below the living wage, with household income almost £3,000 lower than in non-coastal areas.

Poorer health, education, transport and broadband links are also highlighted.

The report was commissioned by the Coastal Communities Alliance, the Local Government Association Coastal Special Interest Group and the Coastal Partnerships Network and the BBC has been given exclusive access to it ahead of its publication on Wednesday.

The report warns levelling up focus on regions means "massive challenges" faced by some smaller, remote parts of the country are "hidden" and likely to be missed by the government.

It points to the East of England, which has the third-highest regional average weekly pay despite parts having some of the lowest earnings in the country.

The report calls for the government to target deprived areas by changing its levelling-up criteria and funding formulas.

It also recommends helping projects financially over their full lifespan rather than for a short, defined period.

The government said it continued to provide support to coastal economies.

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The BBC - Coastal areas need help to overturn inequalities, report says