Our coastal areas are some of the most beautiful the UK has to offer, but their communities also face some of the greatest challenges.

Attending a recent Westminster Hall debate on ‘Isolation and hidden deprivation in coastal communities’, I was struck by how many of the issues MPs raised impacted on those faced especially by men and boys, including rates of suicide[1] and NEETs[2].

The Chief Medical Officer’s 2021 Annual Report stated that these communities have ‘some of the worst health outcomes in England’, highlighting ‘low life expectancy and high rates of many major diseases’.

Hartlepool and Hull have some of the greatest proportions of deprived neighbourhoods of all English local authorities. Seven of the 10 most deprived in England are within Blackpool and the single most deprived in Clacton.

Those living in the most deprived areas tend to experience higher rates of suicide than those in the least deprived. The loneliness and isolation which MPs addressed in the debate are both significant risk factors, and tackling them must be central to any successful suicide reduction strategy. An ongoing CPRMB research project is examining the role that male community-based programmes can play in reducing suicide and promoting mental wellbeing.

MPs touched upon the loss of social infrastructure in their communities, specifically referencing closures of pubs and social clubs.

For men in particular, pubs are and have historically been key social spaces[3]. One article published during the pandemic noted that closures during lockdowns could be especially impactful for groups most at risk of social isolation and loneliness ‘such as older men living alone after retirement or divorce’.

Meanwhile, membership of the union for working men’s clubs (the Club and Institute Union) fell from around 4,500 venues in the 1970s to around 1,100 in 2024.

MPs also spoke of the difficulties their constituents face in accessing key services, highlighting a lack and infrequency of public transport, and the significant cost in making journeys. Coastal areas (as well as their rural counterparts) are often both geographically expansive and less densely populated, making it more difficult to design frequent, reliable services which can reach everyone in need of them. Services can also be more costly to run.

This all feeds into issues of loneliness and social isolation, but there are economic consequences, too, which may be worsening the situation faced by young people in these communities who are NEET. Government data from last year shows that NEET risk is higher in northern and coastal communities, with Middlesbrough, Blackpool, and Redcar and Cleveland sitting in the top three.

Many coastal economies are seasonal in nature, or have seen industries which they previously relied upon collapse. There are fewer employment opportunities as a result, and perhaps especially the entry-level jobs which start young people off in their careers. Blackpool North and Fleetwood MP Lorraine Beavers summed this up:

‘When buses are unreliable, railway lines have disappeared and services have closed, geographical isolation quickly becomes economic and social isolation. Young people feel that they must leave to find decent work. The industries that once sustained reliable working communities like mine have disappeared with too little put in their place.’

Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, spoke of difficulties with education in coastal areas. She specifically referenced the 2011 abolition of Education Maintenance Allowance[4] as impacting students who had to travel to places of education far away from their homes, and noted challenges in recruiting teachers.

Anna Gelderd of the neighbouring South East Cornwall constituency said that ‘convenient, reliable and affordable transport is essential for giving people access to education, training, employment and jobs’, specifically calling for more bus provision.

In his first week in office, the Prime Minister’s cost-of-living policy blitz included two measures which might well have been designed with these sorts of issues in mind: namely, the 20% reduction in business rates for pubs, social clubs and music venues, and the reinstatement of the £2 bus cap.

Both might be viewed not just as economic measures, but social ones too. Keeping pubs afloat will protect jobs – particularly the entry-level ones many young people rely upon – and so also protect local economies. Doing so will also help to ensure that local communities continue to have these key social hubs that they rely upon. The bus cap will make it more economically viable for those in these communities to connect with social contacts, services, and places of education, employment and training, helping to tackle both social and economic isolation.

What of devolution? A recently issued Cabinet Statement proposes ‘giving local leaders greater power to shape their places through control over local transport’. The Transport Secretary elaborated that regional mayors will be given fast-track routes to build new transport infrastructure in their areas.

The devil will be in the detail; it should be noted that many regions with coastal communities (including Lancashire and Cornwall) have yet to even elect the regional mayors who would drive these sorts of changes. Furthermore, devolution of power to less well-off areas must be accompanied by sufficient funding from central government to avoid greater economic chasms between regions.

The ‘good growth in every postcode’ that the PM called for throughout Labour’s leadership election will require that everyone, regardless of where in the country they live, can access core services and social contacts. For coastal and rural areas, this means infrastructure built around specific local needs.

John Cooper, MP for Dumfries and Galloway, speaking in the debate perhaps put it most effectively: ‘A person who has £10 in their pocket in a city can do something with it; they can go somewhere or see a friend. But £10 up an isolated farm track is of little use at all.’

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References

[1] Approximately three-in-four of all suicides in the UK are male

[2] An estimated 14.4% of young men (aged 16-24) are NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training), versus 12.5% of young women, according to the most recent ONS data

[3] Recent research points to men being more likely to use pubs and bars than women (36% vs 24%) and to use them frequently (two to three times a week; 14% versus 3%)

[4] EMA was a payment of up to £30 given to 16–18-year-olds who remained in education and training. A joint report from the Centre for Research in Social Policy and the IFS found that EMA increased participation in full time education amongst eligible 16-year-olds, and particularly amongst young men

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