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12,832 spoken contributions under 12 words (interjections such as “Will the hon. Member give way?”) are hidden. Show them

1. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Sarah Coombes

   General Practice Partnership Model

   I am very grateful to the Government for all they have done to improve the NHS. On the different models of GPs, I have a local NHS trust chain of GPs called Your Health Partnership, some of which, particularly in Oakham, have struggled to provide the right care for communities. Luckily, the Oakham surgery and its staff have done a good job to improve services. Could the Government look carefully at the different types of models for GPs to ensure good care for all constituents across the country?

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2. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Quigley

   Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

   I beg to move, That this House has considered isolation and hidden deprivation in coastal communities. What a stupendous pleasure it is to serve under your incredible chairship, Mr Vickers. With so much discussion in recent weeks about the north-south divide, I thought that this debate would be the perfect opportunity to bring colleagues from coastal communities together in a time-honoured parliamentary tradition of comparing notes on who has been most overlooked for funding. While that is a joke, it makes a serious point: communities like mine often feel isolated, not just from funding and opportunity, but from the national conversation. In recent years, the challenges facing the Isle of Wight have rarely made headlines or shaped the political agenda. That does not make them any less real or important to those of us who live there. What is great about securing this debate is that we can highlight in glorious technicolour the deprivation faced by coastal communities, and how that is simply not seen as urgent, visible or politically fashionable to champion by those meant to represent us. I am therefore pleased to have secured the debate and am encouraged to see so many colleagues from coastal communities across the length and breadth of the country coming together to champion the British coast. One of the biggest challenges I have faced since being elected in 2024 has been convincing policymakers that the Isle of Wight deserves not simply Government attention, but the same level of support and intervention as that of other communities facing similar levels of deprivation, poor education outcomes and lower life expectancy. Often, the island’s challenges are treated as serious enough to be acknowledged, but not urgent enough for Government intervention. I believe, however, that deprivation and isolation in places such as the Isle of Wight have reached a point where we can no longer pretend that the challenges are a hidden or unknown phenomenon. The evidence has been there for years and the experiences of local people speak for themselves. As a 2024 report from the London School of Economics argued, many of the persistent challenges facing seaside communities are driven by, in part, “a striking degree of complacency and indifference.” As Professor Chris Whitty said in his 2021 report into the health of coastal areas, even after adjusting for age and deprivation, “there remains a ‘coastal excess’ of disease”, otherwise referred to as the coastal effect. Without falling into the trap of reeling off statistics for the sake of it, I want to highlight a few examples that show exactly why the issue demands greater attention, in particular on the Isle of Wight. It is isolated by the Solent and we are the only English constituencies with only one method of transport on and off, which is privately operated. With 85% of the island classified as rural, delivering services becomes that much more difficult. We have the second highest level of educational deprivation in the south of England, a population whose average age is 11 years higher than the national average, and child poverty rates that continue to sit about 4% above the national average. Taken together, those figures demonstrate a community with clear and pressing needs, but one whose deprivation is too often obscured by neighbouring affluence, leaving it overlooked by the very funding formulas designed to help those who need them the most. I know that it has become something of a running joke that, along with my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight East (Joe Robertson), I mention ferry travel in almost every speech or intervention I make, but I ask colleagues to imagine what it would be like regularly to pay between £200 and as much as £500 to get to the next county—so to travel from Derby to Nottingham or Southampton to Portsmouth, they would need to find that sort of money. For the island, that is not a hypothetical question; it is a reality. During the Isle of Wight festival a few weeks ago, the cost of a return car ferry rose to over £500, due to dynamic pricing. For most people, a journey with a maximum distance of 12 miles would be a routine trip. For islanders, it can mean a bill larger than many people’s weekly pay packet, simply to reach the mainland and to access the services that many others take for granted. When we consider that islanders earn, on average, £5,000 a year less than their mainland counterparts, yet still rely on the same highly expensive ferries to access specialist hospital appointments, visit family and friends, pursue educational opportunities or simply enjoy the freedom to travel, the scale of our isolation becomes much clearer.

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3. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Quigley

   Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

   The hon. Member, my neighbour, is correct. He will not be surprised to know that I have already raised the issue at least once, if not several times, with the potential incoming Prime Minister. It is not just islanders’ wallets that are impacted, but our council budgets, public services and ultimately the sustainability of the island. Earlier this year, the fair funding review left the Isle of Wight council facing a £13 million a year funding shortfall, despite the additional costs and challenges I have already described. If that does not demonstrate that current funding formulas are failing places like ours, I do not know what does. There is nothing fair about a funding review that overlooks the additional costs of island life and then expects local services to deliver the same or more with significantly less. The truth is that being an island or a coastal area comes with unavoidable costs. Even when positive changes are made nationally, they often take longer to reach us, if they reach us at all. Research undertaken by the University of Portsmouth has identified an island factor: the unavoidable additional costs associated with delivering services on the Isle of Wight. The study found that our island status creates extra costs through self-sufficiency, dislocation and what it termed the “island premium”, estimating an added cost of £380 per resident every year, but costing the Isle of Wight council at least £23 million a year extra just to stand still when compared with a similar-sized authority on the mainland. That is coupled with our deprivation, which is often hidden in plain sight. Unlike in some parts of the country where deprivation is concentrated in large urban areas, our challenges are widely dispersed across the island. Areas that experience significant levels of child poverty, poorer health outcomes and educational disadvantage sit directly alongside communities that are comparatively affluent and rank far more favourably in the Government’s indices of deprivation. That phenomenon has been described by academics as “nested deprivation”, where pockets of deep need exist in areas that appear on average to be doing relatively well. The consequence is that deprivation can be masked by neighbouring prosperity. That helps to explain but not justify how the Isle of Wight’s two constituencies can rank among the most deprived and left behind in the country on some measures, yet still miss out on funding opportunities such as Pride in Place. In other words, our deprivation is not hidden because it does not exist; it is hidden because it sits behind postcard views, nostalgia and pockets of affluence, fuelled by second-home ownership that can distort the reality. Such deprivation makes the challenges already facing the country much harder to deal with on the island. Delivering special educational needs and disabilities provision on the island or in a coastal area brings additional challenges, from recruiting and retaining specialist staff to ensuring that there are enough specialist places available. Unlike many mainland communities, families do not have the same range of nearby alternatives when local provision is stretched, and accessing support off the island can mean significant additional cost and disruption. With an ageing and often isolated population, the healthcare inequalities highlighted by Professor Chris Whitty in his 2021 report on coastal communities ring particularly true on the Isle of Wight, where we continue to see higher than average rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia, all while patients must travel across the Solent to access specialist treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

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4. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Quigley

   Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

   I agree entirely that we are almost reliant on community groups in coastal and island communities. There is a danger that such provision no longer exists when funding dries up. We have no dedicated stroke nurse or cancer nurse. Thankfully, after asking, our integrated care board has agreed to fund an epilepsy nurse for the first time; the issue is now attracting someone to do the job. Despite small positive developments, I continue to hear numerous accounts from residents who have chosen not to pursue treatment at all, or have delayed doing so simply because they cannot face the cost, time and stress of repeatedly making the journey. As I draw to the end of my speech, that is the key point that I want to leave Members with. The costs faced by islanders and by many people living in isolated coastal communities go far beyond the inconvenience of waiting for a ferry or a lifeline transport link. Too often when we talk about isolation we focus on geography, but the real cost of isolation and deprivation is a human one. It is the opportunity not taken, the treatment not received, the family not visited, and the support that arrives too late or not at all. Until we recognise that, our funding, policymaking and public services for communities like the Isle of Wight’s will continue to face barriers that many others never have to think about.

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5. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Quigley

   Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

   I thank the Minister for her response, and echo the points made by colleagues from across the House. I sincerely thank Members for attending and contributing to the debate. I also want to mention my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth West (Jessica Toale), who could not make it today but shares the concerns raised. Too often, decisions that appear cost-effective on a spreadsheet can have profound consequences in the real world. A saving identified in a Excel workbook may, in practice, mean an older person on the Isle of Wight being sent to a mainland care home, a student reaching 18 without ever experiencing life beyond their area, or a local authority struggling to meet rising demand with an overstretched adult social care budget. The human cost is always felt by those who can least afford it, and the financial cost is ultimately felt by us all. True fiscal responsibility is not just about balancing the books for the next quarter; it is about making the investments today that reduce costs tomorrow. In coastal communities like ours, that means tackling isolation and hidden deprivation, rather than simply managing their consequences year on year. Question put and agreed to. Resolved, That this House has considered isolation and hidden deprivation in coastal communities.

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6. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Richard Baker

   Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

   It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for securing the debate, because it is vital to consider the issue of hidden deprivation and isolation in coastal communities. In Methil and Buckhaven in my constituency, which have proud histories in fishing and mining, these problems are there in plain sight. There are too many derelict buildings, too many families scarred by the impacts of substance misuse and too many homes that are hard to heat. A third of children live in relative poverty. Levenmouth has the lowest employment rate in Fife and the highest economic inactivity rate. That is why the future of Methil yard in my constituency has been such a priority for me since I was elected. If we ensure that British yards benefit from Government procurement, including through the defence investment plan, that could make a big difference for many of our coastal towns, and certainly would in Methil. If we create more opportunities for work, tackle the pressures on cost of living, improve public services and improve public transport for all our people, coastal communities stand to benefit the most. Government at all levels, including the Scottish Government, must also have a clear focus on their specific needs. That means devolving power further, including within Scotland, so that the people living in these communities, who are both proud of and ambitious for their areas, have a real opportunity to create change where they live. Methil and Buckhaven will receive £20 million in Pride in Place funding over the next 10 years. Our new neighbourhood board is brimming with ideas on what could be done with these funds to provide better support to local people, to use investment in the public realm to realise the beauty in our local coastline and to improve the quality of life in the community. If we take the example of Pride in Place and go much further, investing in our coastal towns and backing local residents to take the decisions that can transform their local areas, this Government can make a real difference in improving their communities and lives.

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7. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachel Taylor

   Topical Questions

   T5. The average wait for an endometriosis diagnosis is more than nine years, often because women and girls are not listened to when they experience really painful periods. My constituent Insha waited for over a decade, only to be told that she could face a three-year wait for specialist surgery. What plans do the Government have to reduce diagnosis times, provide better training for GPs and improve access to specialist endometriosis care for all women and girls in North Warwickshire and Bedworth?

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8. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachael Maskell

   Extreme Heat: Preparedness

   It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Christopher. It was the 1976 New Forest fire in your own constituency that woke me up to the dangers of climate destruction. Just last weekend, on Sunday night, I heard about a fire raging in the area of Acomb, on the edge of my own constituency. A field of wheat had caught ablaze, causing fear to residents; I really thank the police and fire service for their rapid response, but the fire obviously came at great cost to not only the farmer, but the community, and it makes us all so alert to the challenges we face in our time. From discussions about the challenges that our city faces, it is clear that we are not climate resilient. We do not have the necessary strategies and plans to address the urgent needs of our time. The city has done well by focusing on flooding, but heat resilience is a new area to which we must now pay all our attention. Over the last month, schools have had to close, and many of the hospital’s wards have overheated. Across our city, we have felt a real and massively challenging swathe of heatwaves. We recognise that, if we are going to address the issue of flooding in our city, we have to get the hydrology right in the upper catchment area. That means that we have to make certain decisions: can we afford grouse moor shooting any longer, since it drains the land and as a result makes it more prone to catching light? There is much thought that needs to be given to the infrastructure needed, both in agriculture and across our buildings, our public services and so much more. I want to focus on a few points around health, that being my speciality, and to look at the scale of what we are talking about. We have heard already about the 2,700 deaths so far this year from the climate emergency due to heat alone. We think particularly of the most vulnerable—babies, children under the age of four and older people, whose bodies find it harder to regulate—and those who have cognitive dysfunction, who will find it difficult to make the necessary adaptations to keep themselves safe. Of course, we also know that the challenges bear down hardest on those in lower socioeconomic circumstances. As a result, we need to look at this in a way that ensures justice, equality and real fairness. Many people can go out and buy an air-con unit or a fan to keep themselves cool, but those without resources clearly do not have that advantage and their health is placed at even greater risk. We know about not only the distress that this causes—respiratory or cardiovascular distress—but the serious risk of kidney dysfunction and so much more we could name. We have heard about the pharma impact and the impact of exhaustion cramps—and then there are the risks of cancer; we have not heard about that in this debate, but greater UV exposure will increase those risks, too. We also have to think about the environments that people then go into. Our hospitals are just not equipped for this heat. York hospital, built in 1977, is just not heat resilient—it is a greenhouse, as has been highlighted. Anyone struggling to breathe will find it massively challenging in those environments. Therefore, the urgency with which we need to make our public buildings resilient cannot be overstated. I therefore call on the Minister—I appreciate that this goes way beyond her brief, but it is a cross-Government function—to look at how we build resilience across the board. What resources are we going to invest in our climate resilience? Will we have a single Minister, leading cross-departmentally, to ensure resilience? How will we ensure that we are not just looking in Westminster? We know that real change and impact happen on the ground in localities, so how are we empowering our local authorities with the resources and the plans to make a difference now, not just in the future? How are we ensuring that the people working in those facilities have the support they need to say, “Tools down, we can’t work any more”? Of course, that is very difficult when we are talking about health facilities—we think back to covid and the conditions in which people were working in extreme heat there—but we need plans to support workers who are at risk of many of the same health challenges. What I am really asking from the Minister is this. What are the resources and how will we ensure that devolution is part of that? How will we institute comprehensive planning, so that we do not continue to face the risks, the closures, the real discomfort and, tragically, the deaths that we have seen this year?

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9. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachael Maskell

   Topical Questions

   Research shows that specialist palliative care can deliver palliative care in the community, saving the NHS 1.5 million bed days, as well as £817 million. It is important that funding accompanies the modern service framework, so that we have an invest-to-save model moving forward. Will the Minister meet me and Baroness Finlay, to consider the work we have been doing in this area, and see what more the Government can do to enable that?

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10. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Rachael Maskell

    UK-Switzerland Enhanced Free Trade Agreement

    I congratulate my hon. Friend, but I want to ask about pharma in the light of the US-UK pharma deal. When I met academics yesterday, they expressed a concern that if we were to change the terms of the deal with the US, because of mounting costs and the cost to lives which are foreseen under that deal, it could have an impact on the deal that he has now signed. Can he give this House an assurance that we would not have to go back and renegotiate the deal with Switzerland, if we were to renegotiate the deal with the US?

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11. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Maternity Services: North-west

    We know of the devastating impact of failures in maternity care and the courage of women, families and many members of staff. We will reform maternity and neonatal services, translating the recent recommendations of Baroness Amos and Donna Ockenden into a national action plan by the end of the year. We will create a statutory maternity and neonatal commissioner, we are extending Martha’s rule so that the concerns of families are listened to, and we are investing £186 million to improve maternity and neonatal estates.

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12. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Maternity Services: North-west

    I think we can all agree that the report’s findings were shocking, and our thoughts are with the women and families who have suffered life-changing loss or harm. Baroness Amos’s recommendations will shape a new national action plan by the end of the year, and those families will be at the heart of the taskforce that will help us to get this right. That will include defining the role of the maternity commissioner, who will help us to ensure that never again are women not listened to.

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13. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Maternity Services: North-west

    Of course we want to improve services throughout the country. We are modernising the regulatory framework for UK healthcare professionals, ensuring that we can improve consistency of approach and secure less burdensome regulation. The Secretary of State has met representatives of the General Medical Council and invited them to account for their response to some of the failings of care in Nottingham and beyond. As I have said, it is important for us to ensure that consistency of care is provided, throughout Blackpool and throughout the country.

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14. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Support for Bereaved Parents

    Losing a child is devastating, and no one deserves to experience such losses alone. I know that my hon. Friend is a keen supporter of the charity Love, Jasmine in her constituency, which provides vital support to families who have suffered child loss. We are making sure that local NHS services provide easily accessible bereavement support, and local integrated care boards should make sure that service provision is tailored directly to the needs of grieving families in their communities.

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15. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Support for Bereaved Parents

    I commend the work of Rob and Kathy Lapsley. Having been through a terrible loss themselves, they have provided support to parents across Merseyside who face such tragic circumstances. It is vital that bereavement support is available and offered with sensitivity, choice and respect for what each person needs. Integrated care boards must ensure that there is sufficient provision for bereavement, and that includes working with the voluntary community and social enterprise sector. We are investing £25 million to enhance bereavement facilities, and maternity and neonatal services. I thank my hon. Friend for championing the charity Love, Jasmine.

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16. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Support for Bereaved Parents

    I absolutely agree; all parents should have choice and respect in what is a very sensitive and difficult time. As of January this year, all integrated care boards in England have indicated that trusts in their areas offer a bereavement service seven days a week across maternity settings, so that support is available when families need it most. I would be happy to talk to the hon. Lady if she has any further concerns.

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17. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Topical Questions

    Medicine supply chains are global in nature, but we are taking steps to strengthen resilience by exploring opportunities to diversify supply chains, reduce reliance on single sources and undertake targeted monitoring of vulnerable supply chains. We also hold stockpiles for pandemic and serious infectious disease scenarios, including of antibiotics.

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18. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Topical Questions

    I commend my hon. Friend for his campaigning in this area. He is absolutely right: where serious misconduct takes place, action must be taken. That is why our programme of regulatory reform will enable regulators, starting with the GMC, to act more swiftly. We are consulting on proposals that will give the GMC a duty to remove registrants convicted of murder, rape and many other sexual offences without going through a fitness-to-practise process.

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19. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Preet Kaur Gill

    Topical Questions

    Air ambulance charities are a lifeline to communities across the country, and I want to celebrate the extraordinary volunteers who keep these services flying. The Royal Devon and Exeter hospital near the hon. Member’s constituency has a state-of-the-art helipad funded by a £1 million donation from the HELP Appeal. The facility is fully equipped with advanced lighting to allow landings 24/7 and can accommodate the latest generation of larger air ambulance helicopters.

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20. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Lamb

    Employees Travelling Outside the UK: Expenses Rate

    I beg to move, That this House has considered expenses rates for employees travelling outside the UK. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I am calling on the Government to ensure that serious consideration is given to reassessing the scale rates for expenses and subsistence paid to employees who by nature of their work are required to travel outside the UK. My constituency of Crawley is home to Gatwick airport and many workers, including pilots and cabin crew, who are required to spend considerable time abroad with the flights they crew. That can last from several hours to several days for those working long-haul flights. Time spent away from home in foreign cities, without access to kitchens or other domestic utilities, can be overwhelmingly expensive, particularly for junior members of the cabin crew, whose salaries, according to the National Careers Service, begin at around £19,000. It is right, therefore, that employers pay tax-deductible subsistence payments to their employees, to cover the costs associated with travel necessary to do their jobs. Under the previous Government, to save companies having to check every single receipt that an employee accrues while abroad, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs introduced a benchmark expenses rates for employees travelling outside the UK. Those were first published on the Government’s website in 2013, with unique rates produced for almost every one of the world’s major cities, setting out the average cost of drinks, breakfast, lunch and dinner, a night in a hotel room and even the journey from hotel to office. Each city had also been given broader non-specific subsistence reimbursement rates. Demarcated across specific time boundaries, that is a rate for when employees spent more than five hours in a given city, with another for when they spent more than 10 or 24 hours there. The detailed task of producing those rates over a decade ago is evidenced by the fact that HMRC went to the effort of making unique assessments city by city, and that the increase in reimbursement between five, 10 and 24 hours is not only non-linear but unique to each city. Despite the time and effort put into producing those bespoke rates, they have been upgraded significantly only once in the past 13 years—in October 2014, a year after they were first produced—and that only included a fraction of the cities listed. Despite assurances that the Government keep under review all taxes, including overseas subsistence rates, if we check their website, we see that rates payable to an employee who has travelled to Zagreb for work are listed in Croatian kuna, even though Croatia joined the euro on 1 January 2023. The subsistence rates for at least 15 European capitals, including Athens, Madrid, Lisbon and Dublin, have never received an update. Due to more than a decade of inflation, those benchmark values have been eroded in real terms. Ahead of this debate, using the total residual rates produced in 2013, and nation-specific consumer price index inflation figures from the World Bank Group, we have calculated today’s expected subsistence rates for European destinations. Amsterdam’s total residual rate in 2013 was set at €71; a year later it was raised to €72, where it remains today. According to World Bank Group data, prices in the Netherlands in the 12 years since have risen by an average of 2.6% a year. That compounds to a 36% increase over that period. Had the 2013 rates for Amsterdam increased in line with inflation, workers who had spent more than 24 hours in the city would now receive more than €96. The fact that those rates have been ignored for so long means that cabin crew and pilots—including constituents of mine and those in adjacent areas—are losing out on subsistence payments of more than €25.

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21. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Peter Lamb

    Employees Travelling Outside the UK: Expenses Rate

    I take that fully on board. I am delighted that the hon. Member is here for this debate. There are cities in Europe where the situation is even more pronounced than in Amsterdam. In Budapest, the total residual rate set in 2013 and unchanged since 2014 has been eaten away by a compound inflation rate of 67% in Hungary. The current payment of 16,000 forints is well over 10,000 forints, or 40%, lower than it should be. The worst example among European capitals, however, is in Ankara. In the years since the overseas subsistence rates were first set, Turkey has experienced huge inflation. Prices have risen at an average of 22.5% every year. Despite that, Ankara’s residual rate remains at 240 lira, as set in 2014. If it had increased with inflation, it would be over 2,500 lira today, which represents an unrealised tenfold increase. In these situations, as a direct result of the Treasury not having revisited those rates over the last 12 years, airlines and other organisations are able to justify under-compensating their staff by pointing to what is essentially Government guidance. When I wrote to the Treasury with those concerns last year, the then Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ealing North (James Murray), informed me that in situations where expenses rates do not cover the actual costs of needing to eat, drink and sleep while abroad for work, the employers can instead choose to “pay actual expenses incurred”. Unfortunately, not every company chooses to do that for their employees, with many of them instead choosing—I do not think this will be a surprise to any of us—to pay the lower rate, the Government’s fixed rate. The issue has a real and detrimental impact on the working lives of cabin crew. A constituent of mine working for an airline operating out of Gatwick airport was blunt about this, telling me that the fact that the rates are so far behind reality means that they have been forced to “miss meals” while abroad for work. Another constituent stated that “current scale rate allowances do not reflect the real costs we face on these trips”, and reiterated that “the allowance provided does not cover even the most basic meals.” It is evident, therefore, that overseas scale rates must be raised. That is why I was delighted when, in his written statement, my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury committed to reviewing and uprating them last month. This has been a long time coming. While simply increasing the 2013 rates in line with inflation would be welcome, I hope the Treasury takes the opportunity to undertake a full review of how subsistence rates can be systematically improved. Having secured this debate, I was contacted by Virgin Atlantic, which, among other things, raised concerns that there are some destinations where the current rate might not reflect the full cost of subsistence for an individual visiting or living in the city. For instance, it provided the example of Lagos where safety restrictions require pilots and cabin crew to remain in their hotels and rely on higher cost room service or onsite dining. It is its view—one that I share—that any review should give consideration to those concerns and ensure that safe accommodation is made affordable under new rates. I am well aware that questions related to tax pose difficult decisions for Governments, particularly in times of global economic uncertainty such as these. But I would hope that we would all accept that people should not go without meals while undertaking travel essential to their work, particularly where those individuals might already be on a very low wage. I will closely follow the outcome of the Treasury’s review of overseas scale rates, and I hope that the various issues I have highlighted today are reflected in its outcome.

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22. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Perran Moon

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    Meur ras. It is an honour to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) for introducing this very important debate. It speaks directly to the reality facing my constituents in Camborne, Redruth and Hayle, the furthest southerly Labour seat in the United Kingdom. When it comes to remote coastal isolation and hidden deprivation, the machinery of Government is simply broken by stereotypes and urban-centric thinking. Purely as a matter of scale, most people have no idea that Bristol, supposedly in the south-west, is closer to Manchester than to Camborne, Redruth and Hayle. When most people think of Cornwall, they have a picture postcard image, yet beneath that image lies deep hidden deprivation: wages are far below the national average, employment is seasonal and insecure and housing is ridiculously unaffordable to most. While the EU recognised that with objective 1 funding, Westminster simply has not. In fact, Treasury models compound the Cornish misery: in-migration by wealthier English retirees inflates affluence figures, masking the scale of poverty. In my constituency alone, nine neighbourhoods rank among the most deprived in the country, yet wealthier coastal areas create an overall impression of poverty lessening in the region. The indices of multiple deprivation fail those nine communities, because Treasury models consider the overall picture and do not identify the hidden poverty within. As my hon. Friend the Member for Truro and Falmouth (Jayne Kirkham) alluded to, Cornish residents are systemically disadvantaged in housing, healthcare and public transport. On SEND, Cornwall is the 11th least funded of 151 local authorities, receiving less than half the per pupil funding of councils in Kensington and Chelsea, and about £500 less than places in Manchester. Much of Cornwall’s population lives in pretty poverty. It is isolated, deprived and hidden from Westminster. If the Government are serious about tackling inequality, they must ensure that funding reflects need, not averages on a Whitehall spreadsheet. It is time for a radical review of funding models for remote coastal areas.

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23. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Paulette Hamilton

    Topical Questions

    The Health and Social Care Committee is publishing its report tomorrow on fixing the food environment, and it will be making several recommendations to support everyone to eat more healthily. Will the Minister commit to engaging positively with the details of our report, and will she set out the steps that the Government are already taking in that area?

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24. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Paula Barker

    Support for Bereaved Parents

    8. What assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing funding to organisations that support bereaved parents.

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25. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Paula Barker

    Support for Bereaved Parents

    The death of a child seems to violate the natural order of things, leaving parents shocked, grieving and in unimaginable pain. The charity Love, Jasmine in my constituency was founded by Rob and Kathy Lapsley in 2016 after the death of their daughter Jasmine to support other bereaved parents on Merseyside through counselling, support groups, advocacy and practical advice. Since then, it has helped over 900 families and received a constant stream of NHS referrals but without any commissioned NHS funding. It now faces a funding crisis after the loss of its National Lottery funding due to new criteria, which has left it operating a limited service and under threat of closure, while families face longer waiting times for support elsewhere that is less designed to their needs. Will the Government consider carefully the strong case for NHS commissioned funding for the kind of specialist support for bereaved parents that Love, Jasmine offers, so that this service—so trusted by the NHS across the north-west—is not lost?

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26. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Paula Barker

    Public Office (Accountability) Bill

    I rise to support new clauses 5 and 6, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Hammersmith and Chiswick (Andy Slaughter). I welcome the Prime Minister’s remarks, and I am relieved that the Government have listened, so that the duty of candour will apply in full to members of the security services, and the Bill will finally reach the statute book. I pay tribute to all those who have fought so long and so hard for this Bill, including the families, the Hillsborough Law Now campaign, and my fellow Merseyside MPs, in particular my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle) and the hon. Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne). I also thank Pete Weatherby KC, Elkan Abrahamson, and my right hon. Friend the Member for Makerfield (Andy Burnham), who introduced the first Hillsborough law Bill in 2017, after addressing the 20th anniversary in 2009 when he was Culture Secretary. I was stood on the Kop that day, when a lone voice shouted out “Justice”, and it then turned into a chorus of voices that was the catalyst for the Hillsborough independent panel. The report of the Independent Office for Police Conduct in December recounted once again the horrifying events that took place, and the disgraceful attempt to blame the victims and hide the truth, as well as the appalling response to the report from South Yorkshire Police Federation. It showed exactly why this legislation is so desperately needed, and why new clauses 5 and 6 are so important. In the 2017 Manchester Arena attack, MI5 was found by a public inquiry not to have given an accurate picture of the key intelligence that it held on the suicide bomber who carried out the attack. New clause 6 would mandate that the duty of candour and assistance applies to the intelligence services as it does to other public authorities. However, it establishes safeguards for sensitive information, and adjusts individual reporting obligations for intelligence personnel, routeing candour requirements through agency record-keeping arrangements and the head of the organisation. New clause 7 would require the Secretary of State to commission and publish an independent report annually. That would serve as a formal oversight mechanism to monitor compliance with the statutory duties outlined in the Bill. The passage of the Bill has been too long delayed, and we have finally reached this point only because of the strength and bravery of the families of the 97 who died as a result of what happened on 15 April 1989. I am particularly thinking today of my constituents Keith McGrath, who died aged just 17, and Andrew Devine, who was 22 when he suffered horrendous injuries that day, and who died as a result of them in 2021 aged 55, after being cared for devotedly in the years after the disaster by his family, in particular his parents. The families of the 97 who died have continued to fight for accountability and justice, despite the years of official denials, and the deliberate attempt to hide the truth of what occurred that day. They have fought for a Hillsborough law worthy of the memory of the 97, but not just for them, which shows their decency, resilience, and wider sense of public spirit. They refused to accept legislation that would have allowed an exemption for the security services because of their concern for others who have suffered injustice: the families of victims and survivors of the Manchester Arena bombing, the Grenfell Tower fire, nuclear test veterans, the Post Office Horizon scandal, and so many other tragedies where it has taken far too long for the truth to emerge. As my right hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool Garston said in her intervention, there are still points to address. For example, the Bill does not provide for full equity of arms, funding, and legal resources for public authorities and bereaved families. Nevertheless, it is important that the Bill will finally pass into law before the summer recess. The families of all those who died or were injured at Hillsborough should not have had to wait 37 years for this legislation. They have been cruelly denied accountability and justice, but they have fought with incredible courage to ensure that in future other families will never have to fight for decades, as they have had to fight for the truth to come to light. This is their day, and I pay tribute to them once again. Justice for the 97.

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27. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Patrick Hurley

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Alec. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this debate. I represent the lovely seaside town of Southport, and like many coastal MPs, I know that our lovely towns can be deceptive because behind the frontage there are lower wages, poor health, seasonal work and young people leaving. That is why I welcome how this debate has been framed, because as well as being economic, the challenge facing our coastal areas is social. There is the loss of the places that bring people together, such as libraries, youth clubs, post offices, Sure Start centres, village halls and pubs. There has been a wealth of research in the last decade on the hollowing out of those places and the malign long-term consequences of the funding decisions of the last 20 years or so. However, the one that strikes and stays with me the most is Diane Bolet’s “Drinking Alone”. It charts the correlation between the loss of the local pub and the subsequent propensity of the local population to vote for the radical right at election time. The correlation is striking. It is true that the causal relationship is not fully understood, but what I do understand is that if social isolation is correlated to extreme politics, then it is worth a chance of reversing that ideology by trying to socialise people more in their local areas and geographic communities. I also encourage colleagues to search out “Nothing to do and nowhere to go”. It might sound like the B-side to a song by a second-division punk band from 1978, but it is an academic paper published earlier this year, and the title says it all. It argues that years of losing youth provision, leisure facilities and community spaces has not just reduced opportunities for young people; it has weakened people’s sense of belonging. To bring it back to Diane Bolet’s thesis about voting behaviour, the research was conducted in Great Yarmouth. When the general public hear about infrastructure, they tend to think about roads, but social infrastructure matters too. Youth clubs, sports clubs, libraries, community centres, parks and gardens, faith groups—all of that. I say to anybody watching this debate back in Southport: please get involved. Please help to make our town the town it can be in whatever way you can.

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28. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    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.

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29. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    I will address that point later in my speech. More than 5 million residents live in 169 coastal towns across England and Wales, and they deserve a voice and a future. The Government’s commitment to doing that goes well beyond rhetoric. That is why I am particularly proud that the Government support the Pride in Place programme—just one programme, but an important one—through which £6 billion has been allocated for long-term investment in communities across the United Kingdom. I recognise that not every constituency among the coastal communities has secured funding, but the 50 coastal communities that have benefit collectively from more than £1 billion in investment. Those communities are not simply receiving the funds but being given greater voice in how that money should be spent.

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30. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    The Pride in Place plan sets clear criteria: the first tranche of funding focused on deprivation, and the second focused on deprivation and community cohesion. I am happy to provide more information to the hon. Member. I recognise that not every part of the country has Pride in Place funding, which is why I have always been clear that Pride in Place alone will not see the transformation that coastal communities need.

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31. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    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.

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32. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    I am happy to give way, but I will just say that after 14 years of austerity imposed on us by Conservatives and Lib Dems, Members should reflect on the multi-year settlement that local authorities are benefiting from.

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33. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    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.

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34. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    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.

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35. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    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.

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36. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nesil Caliskan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    I am of course very happy to pick that up separately with representatives from the devolved nations, especially in relation to health, because some of the principles obviously go beyond England. I thank Members for highlighting the challenges. I particularly thank my hon. Friend the Member for Scarborough and Whitby (Alison Hume) for highlighting the acute challenges of domestic abuse in her constituency and her region; “There’s not much help we can give you” is simply not a good enough answer to anybody. That is the wrong message to give, and I believe there is help. I thank Members for an excellent debate on important issues. Coastal communities are important to the Government, and the potential of the whole country can be achieved only if coastal communities’ potential is achieved too.

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37. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Coastal Communities: Isolation and Hidden Deprivation

    It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Sir Alec, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Isle of Wight West (Richard Quigley) on securing this important debate. Like all hon. Members who represent a coastal constituency, I am lucky to represent such a beautiful area. However, one of the first issues we face is that of perception. My constituency has some of the most expensive land in the country, which sits just 20 minutes away from areas that fall within the most deprived 10% of places in England. Such extremes of wealth can often mask what is really happening in a town. Average gross median weekly full-time earnings in Poole are £764, but monthly rent is around £1,400. One in four children in Poole is living in relative poverty after housing costs, which shows the impact of high rents and their effect on the cost of living. Towns such as Poole are also desperate for good-quality, affordable and secure council housing for local families, rather than the developer-led luxury waterside apartments that have sprung up in recent years. Such apartments are either unsuitable for young families or out of reach for many locals. We know that poor housing can lead to poor health outcomes. Life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy are all lower in coastal areas, and the gap between more affluent areas and poorer areas continues to widen. In conclusion, I hope that the new Prime Minister will consider appointing a Minister for coastal communities to address these very important and pressing issues.

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38. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Topical Questions

    We have had 23 reviews into social care since 1997, but no agreement on how care should be funded. Does the Minister agree that the way we fund cancer care should also be the way that we fund care of those with dementia?

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39. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Neil Duncan-Jordan

    Political Donations and Public Contracts

    I rise to present a petition, alongside a corresponding online petition, which has been signed by more than 4,000 UK residents, calling for a ban on political donors getting contracts from Governments they helped to fund. Big money donors do not give out of kindness; they pay for access and influence. The evidence shows that it is a smart investment, because the firms have landed billions in Government contracts. If we want to build a better country, we need a better kind of politics, and tackling the corrosive influence of big money is the first step to rebuilding public trust. The petitioners “therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ban political donors from receiving public contracts with Governments of political parties” to which they have donated, “And the petitioners remain, etc.” Following is the full text of the petition: [The petition of residents of the United Kingdom, Declares that companies which donate to political parties have gone on to receive billions of pounds in public contracts; and further declares that this creates a perception that political decisions are shaped by cosy relationships with super-rich donors, instead of a sole focus on delivering better living standards and services for millions of people. The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Government to ban political donors from receiving public contracts with Governments of political parties they have donated to. And the petitioners remain, etc.] [P003226]

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40. 14 Jul 2026·Parliament·Labour·Nadia Whittome

    Public Office (Accountability) Bill

    My hon. Friend is making an incredibly emotional speech. I know, from the Nottingham maternity review, the harm and hurt that is caused when people with knowledge and involvement in institutional failures are allowed to dodge accountability and scrutiny. Does she agree that it is therefore vital there is no exemption from the duty of candour, including for the security services, and that campaigners, including our hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool West Derby (Ian Byrne), have been right to fight for so many years for a Hillsborough law that is worthy of the name and that can truly end cover-ups?

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