Coalfield Regeneration Trust report on the impact of the Coronavirus crisis on older industrial Britain

That this House notes the research commissioned by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust examining the health and economic effects of the covid-19 pandemic on older industrial towns and former coalfields; notes that this research has found that up to the start of 2021 the cumulative death rate in older industrial towns and former coalfields was on average 30 per cent above the UK average; expresses concern that between March and November 2020 claimant unemployment among 16-24 year olds in older industrial Britain doubled; notes that older industrial Britain had been disproportionately affected by major losses of industry and austerity prior to the covid-19 pandemic; expresses concern that those same regions will lag behind other parts of the UK in any post-pandemic recovery; believes that action must be taken to ensure that those areas are not disproportionately affected by the long-term economic effects of covid-19; and calls on the Government to ensure that any levelling up agenda targets older industrial towns and former coalfields.