As Steff Aquarone, MP for North Norfolk, made the point last week during a debate I participated in to consider coastal communities, many of his constituents will share far more experiences with their coastal friends in Cornwall, than with those down the road in the city of Norwich. Living in a seaside town is unique. I love Cornwall. It's my home. But I am more aware than ever, how getting good health and economic outcomes is more challenging here than it is in more central areas, and when it comes to climate change, we really are at the sharp end.

Our coastal communities are likely to have higher deprivation living alongside wealth. They are often creative hubs. Cornwall attracts many artists and musicians, and Falmouth has the world-class Falmouth and Exeter universities. A recent concern is how climate change will affect that coastline with DEFRA’s new Shore Management Plan having a policy of coastal managed realignment. Leaving our beaches to the sea poses a risk to our beach cafés, car parks and economy in Cornwall.

The port of Falmouth is still very significant: we maintain and repair ships, including military ships, we host cruise ships and will hopefully soon have new onshore electricity plug-ins so that ships don’t need to constantly run their generators when in port. There are plans to regenerate the port to service floating offshore wind and maybe even to reinstate the freight railway.

However, in coastal areas like Cornwall, wages are still lower than the national average, many jobs are seasonal and insecure, and hospitality businesses struggle with low margins. The permanently lower business rates that will be introduced for tourism, hospitality and retail premises in April next year after the business rates discount expires should help, but there is still more that can be done and I will be meeting with Cornish hospitality and tourism businesses to discuss this further. Skills shortages are significant, particularly in hospitality, but also in other skilled professions, and house prices are 13 times higher than local wages.

There are 24,500 properties for short-term let in Cornwall, up 30 per cent on 2019, while 27,000 households are on the social housing waiting list. Second homes still account for nearly five per cent of our housing stock. I welcome the Renters’ Rights Bill with its ban on no fault evictions. It will protect renters a great deal, but we also need measures for second homes and short-term lets, including a registration or licensing scheme. Good holiday companies are indeed calling for registration and safety inspection for holiday lets.

In addition, Cornwall has faced underfunding in health, social care and education for years compared to urban areas. It costs more to provide services on our peninsula. Travel around it is often difficult and expensive. During the debate, it was pointed out that every government policy can affect us in potentially different ways to urban areas and many MPs, including myself, called for a broader government strategy to support coastal communities.