Nesil Caliskan MP: speeches

Speeches

• 7 Sept 2026 · Economic Growth · Hansard source

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  I thank the Minister for her statement and agree that London is indeed a powerhouse for growth. However, as a Member of Parliament for an outer London borough, I know, and she will recognise, that that wealth is not felt by every Londoner. With industrialisation and job creation being priorities for the Government, will the Minister reassure us that those priorities will reach the postcodes of my constituency?

• 16 Jul 2026 · Changing Places Toilets: Capital Funding · Hansard source

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  I thank the hon. Member for her passionate advocacy. Since the fund was allocated, we have had a significant spending review through which moneys were allocated to local government. I will make the case for why decisions around spending are best made locally, but that does not mean I do not recognise the important cases that have been made. I also recognise that the moneys that had been allocated to Changing Places toilets delivered change on the ground with facilities across the country. I also absolutely accept the important point that my hon. Friend the Member for Bexleyheath and Crayford made about the speed at which additional facilities are being provided. There has clearly been a reduction in the speed of provision across the country—I am not in the business of rejecting the evidence in front of us—but the Government’s important spending review included a record spending settlement for local government, and spending decisions should be taken locally. The 2021 regulations were significant. I remember them well; as a council leader, I followed building regulation changes, which have an impact on local government budgets. As a result of the 2021 regulations, all building works must meet the functional requirements of the 2010 building regulations, including part M, which addresses accessibility. In addition, at the 2025 spending review the Government committed more than £5 billion in new grant funding over three years for essential local services, including public toilets. We continue to provide 100% mandatory business rates relief for separately accessible toilets. I accept that that is a slightly different conversation, but I want to give a sense of the Government’s broader commitment to ensuring that there are accessible toilets for everybody in our communities. Taken together, those measures are intended to increase the availability of these vital facilities over time and ensure that accessibility is treated as a mainstream consideration as we plan and build our public spaces. I hear and accept the powerful cases that hon. Members have made. I acknowledge the calls for a new capital fund pot for Changing Places but, as Members will appreciate, it is a little beyond my ability to make a spending commitment, although I am reminded that Ministers in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government have gone on to hold offices that have the power to make such commitments. Members will take the point that I am making. The Government believe that local authorities are best placed to understand where facilities need to be, so our approach to funding them is important. We encourage them to allocate the funding necessary to deliver public toilet provision. Decisions are best made locally.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  I will make a little progress. Pride in Place funding is important, because £20 million, including for 50 coastal communities, is not nothing. Alongside that, the Pride in Place impact fund is delivering up to £143 million to 93 local authorities, almost 40% of which are coastal communities. Coastal communities also benefit from a range of wider Government interventions, as I said, and we recognise that improving education is a key part of that. I thank Members for making so many important points relating to education and the challenges that coastal communities face in respect of the isolation of educational facilities and, in many senses, their viability. The Government are already acting through initiatives such as Mission Coastal, working with schools, academy trusts and local partners to improve outcomes in disadvantaged coastal areas. Through the local regeneration fund, we are providing local authorities with greater flexibility to deliver projects that support local growth and respond to local priorities. I recognise Members’ frustration about local government funding, and I know that councils deliver valuable services. The Government settlement strengthens the relationship between deprivation and funding. That is a good thing, and coastal communities will benefit from that. By 2028-29, the top 10% of most deprived areas will receive 45% more funding per head than the least deprived.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  It is as though the hon. Gentleman has read my notes; I was just about to come to that. I welcome the opportunity to address that point, which has long been debated in both Westminster Hall and the Chamber. Flexible working is of course important for a labour market, and that is particularly the case for coastal towns, but the truth is that it has too often been used as a reason for employers not to give people their fair share of payment. I recognise the seasonal nature of work in coastal towns, but there has to be a balance. The Employment Rights Act includes powers to ensure that zero-hours contracts and the needs of seasonal industries are accommodated. It allows for further regulation and scrutiny, but there is already provision in the Act itself. I recognise the hon. Gentleman’s point, but I am confident that the Act provides not only rights for employees, but the flexibility that coastal towns need in respect of seasonal work. On the points about transport opportunities that were so well put by Members of all parties, and the particular challenge for coastal communities that find themselves isolated, we know that convenient, reliable and affordable transport is essential for giving people access to education, training, employment and jobs. I was particularly shocked to hear about the cost of ferry travel from the Isle of Wight, which is extraordinary. It is particularly shocking when we think about the transport necessary for a local economy to keep going. The Government have announced, through our child poverty strategy, that we will develop a new transport poverty tool to help national and local bodies in England to identify areas of poor transport connectivity and affordability. Access to services depends on connectivity, as does a local economy, and individuals need to be able to use transport and go to work. I agree with Members that transport infrastructure investment is a key part of economic growth, and I am also pleased that 11 of the UK’s 12 freeports, which I think have been mentioned as an important part of our economic growth, are in coastal locations, supporting the Government’s drive for economic growth.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  I apologise but I am going to make some progress because I have very little time. Some coastal communities face the same housing crisis challenges as areas elsewhere in the country but, of course, particular characteristics of that crisis impact coastal towns. The Government’s £40 billion for building more affordable and social homes will benefit coastal communities as well as the rest of the country, but I know there are challenges around short-term lets. The Government are making changes to the tax system to ensure that housing is seen primarily as about people having a home, rather than as an investment—an important point made not only made in this debate but in the main Chamber too—and those taxation changes will be important for coastal communities. Alongside that, the Government have abolished the furnished holiday lets tax regime, so landlords will no longer be incentivised via the tax system to make their properties available for short-term lets. I believe that will make a tangible difference for coastal communities. Members spoke powerfully about the need for a more joined-up approach to the delivery of health services, and about the particular challenges coastal communities face because of their isolation. I pay tribute to Members who spoke about social isolation as well as the healthcare challenges for coastal communities. It is distressing to hear that constituents are not receiving the healthcare treatment they need. Someone’s access to healthcare cannot depend on whether they are a car owner. That is not right. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has a role to play in making sure that services are joined up, as does the NHS. The Government have made reducing health inequalities a central part of our mission.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  The hon. Lady and I have worked well together on Select Committees, and she advocates for her area incredibly well. Others across the political divide will agree with her important point. Rural communities are being addressed through a number of different funds, but I recognise the general point about fairness through the local government settlement. I have spent much of my political career advocating for that, so I certainly will not diminish it. The shadow Minister raised employer national insurance contributions. The Government had to make a difficult decision in order to boost public services spending by £100 billion. That was the right political choice that is ultimately helping coastal communities. I gently say that the challenges that coastal communities face have not emerged in the past two years because of Government fiscal policy. They are long-standing challenges that multiple Governments have failed to properly address. There is always a balance to be struck when it comes to taxation, how much money we can generate for frontline services and the long-term investment that coastal communities need. We have to constantly review that, but I welcome the £100 billion of additional investment that has been generated by increasing employer national insurance contributions. Half of those who pay national insurance contributions are paying the same as they did previously and, because of the changes to the employment allowances, over 800,000 employers pay no national insurance at all.

• 14 Jul 2026 · Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation · Hansard source

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  It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I also welcome the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Broxbourne (Lewis Cocking), to his place—although neither of us represents a coastal town. He and I have known each other a long time. The Government recognise the importance of coastal communities. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing such an important and well-attended debate. Places such as the Isle of Wight are often thought of as postcards of national pride, as they should be, but as Members have said so well, behind the postcards, they face a distinctive challenge: geographical isolation, poorer connectivity, deprivation and barriers to opportunity. The Social Mobility Commission found that coastal communities have some of the least favourable conditions for childhood in our country—a disproportionately high number of their children are eligible for free school meals, for example, with parents who have relatively low qualification levels. The Isle of Wight demonstrates the strengths and the challenges found across many coastal communities. Its economy was worth more than £3 billion in 2020. Health, education, retail, manufacturing and, of course, tourism all play a major role in the island’s strengths. At the same time, like all coastal communities, it faces a number of economic and social challenges. The Government are committed to ensuring that no community is left behind—there is no hierarchy when it comes to deprivation. Regardless of where people live, they must have access to the opportunities that they need to succeed.