The Fed Welcomes New High Street Minister

The Fed’s National President, Hetal Patel, has congratulated High Streets Minister, Nesil Caliskan MP, following their appointment as Parliamentary Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and to collaborate on their work supporting the High Street. The new Minister’s varied brief includes responsibility for English Devolution, Local and regional growth, but also development of the new High Streets Strategy.

In his letter he highlighted the important role that “…[the Fed] and our members are playing supporting the Government’s economic and High Street agenda” as well as the Fed’s keenness to work in partnership with all parts of Government, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

However, he said “…this remains a challenging time for the sector and our members due to retail crime and high costs. Whilst we fully recognise the challenging fiscal outlook faced by the Government, our members have concerns about higher commercial costs and taxation pressure.”

The letter follows a meeting Mr. Patel and former Fed President, Mo Razzaq, had with one of Ms. Caliskan’s predecessors, Alex Norris MP, when he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary in MHCLG in July 2025.  The letter also follows positive engagement in recent months between the Fed, including meetings with senior Government Ministers and Labour figures, Sarah Jones MP, Liz Kendall MP and Wes Streeting MP.