Dear Friends,
As the year draws to a close, I’d like to wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This season reminds us of the importance of community, kindness, and hope. Over the last year I have had the privilege of meeting so many people in the constituency who embody those qualities in the work they do to help keep our area special. I’d like to thank everyone for the things you do – big and small – to make our community stronger, and wish you the very best for 2026.
Appreciation for our postal workers
Our Posties do a great job in all weathers delivering our mail, and at this time of year they are at their busiest, so I visited our local Post Office sorting centre in Hessle to show some appreciation and thank the hardworking staff for everything they do.
I make this visit every year ahead of Christmas, but this was the busiest I’ve seen it, with everyone incredibly busy ensuring our cards and presents arrive on time. A huge thank you to the team for keeping everything moving over the Christmas period!
Hull West and Haltemprice Small Business Saturday Winners
Speaking of what makes our area special, our Small Business Saturday competition is an opportunity to show appreciation for the fantastic businesses we have locally. More than 1,000 of you voted this year, emphasising how valued they are in our community. A huge thank you to everyone who voted for supporting our local businesses!
Winners
- Food and Drink- The Milk Well
- Services- JoJo’s Childcare
- Retail- Hull Pops
- Hair and Beauty- HFM Gypsyville
- Fitness and Wellness- Find Fitness
Runners Up
- Food and Drink- Cozee Cafe
- Services- TJ Waste Management
- Retail- Wishes of Willerby
- Hair and Beauty- Anlaby Nail and Spa
- Fitness and Wellness- Rhythm and Dreams
Congratulations to our winners, runners-up and to every business who was nominated.
East Riding College’s brand-new Hull campus is open in the city centre
I was honoured to be asked to officially open this new facility space, which focuses on performing arts, and I even had a ribbon to cut! Afterwards we were treated to some impressive performances from the students.
Access to the arts is so important, it helps build confidence, teamwork and collaboration, and I’m really pleased that there’s a new space for local people to develop their creative talents.
Youth Guarantee– Opportunities for Every Young Person
Every young person needs the opportunity to earn or learn after leaving school, and that is why Labour is delivering on our promise to ensure every young person gets exactly that. The Government has announced £820 million to support those not in education, employment or training (NEET), creating 350,000 new training and job opportunities in sectors like construction, health and hospitality.
Key measures include:
- Youth Hubs expanded to over 360 locations nationwide for tailored support.
- A Youth Guarantee Gateway offering nearly 900,000 young people intensive help to get back on track.
- Preventative action through better data sharing and automatic enrolment in Further Education for those without a place.
- A Jobs Guarantee for 18–21-year-olds on Universal Credit for 18 months to receive six months of paid work.
Labour is determined to meet its commitment to give every young person the tools and opportunities to they need to succeed.
SEND – Parents have your say
We know that the way SEND works needs improvement. Families have felt unheard and been left to battle a system that simply doesn’t deliver for their children. We’re committed to breaking down barriers to opportunity for children with SEND, which is why we’re putting lived experience at the heart of our reforms and creating a direct line to parents across the nation by launching a national conversation on SEND.
As part of that conversation, you can sign up for online meetings on fair reform of the SEND system with the Schools Minister Georgia Gould and a panel of experts and make your voice heard.
There is also an opportunity to contribute your views and experiences of the SEND system in writing here which closes 14 January.
Fixing Carer’s Allowance Injustices
Carers are vital to our communities, yet hundreds of thousands were left facing unexpected debts over the last ten years due to unclear rules on earnings. Last year, the Labour government launched the independent Sayce Review, and following its recommendations will now reassess all overpayment cases, reduce debts, and refund money where appropriate.
We have committed to
- An automatic review of cases meaning most carers won’t need to contact DWP.
- Refund those who have already repaid.
- Introduce new measures to prevent future issues, including clearer guidance and better data sharing.
This Government has set aside £75 million to put right these past failures, rebuild trust and support this important group in the essential work they do.
Tax and benefit fraud crackdown
It’s not fair that those who play by the rules end up paying for those who cheat the system. That’s why we’re doing more to crack down on tax and benefit fraud and recover money from dodgy covid contracts.
Last year we stopped over £480 million ending up in the pockets of fraudsters, more money than ever before.
Under new laws approved this week, benefit cheats, fraudsters and debtors who can afford to repay but refuse will have money taken directly from their bank accounts or lose their driver’s licence.
As well as this we are tightening tax loopholes, going after the people behind tax avoidance schemes, and reclaimed £74 million from over-paid Tory asylum hotel contracts.
We will continue to go after those trying to cheat the system and emphasise value-for-money in all government spending.
Improving local bus services – your concerns are being heard
I know from all the complaints I have received recently that the service from East Yorkshire Buses (EYB) in the constituency has not been improving.
The Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority (HEYCA), headed by the Mayor, has now assumed responsibility for bus services in the region. The government’s new Bus Services Act has also given them greater powers to make improvements, with new obligations on operators to meet agreed service standards and share information on service performance including real-time reliability.
I raised your complaints directly with the Mayor, asking how he was going to use the budget and new powers to sort things out.
He informed me that a consultation is in progress to create a Combined Enhanced Bus Partnership for Hull and East Yorkshire to address the issues and plan for the future. An initial draft would be ready for consideration in March 2026, but provided no firm date for when the Partnership would come into force after that.
The government continues to do its part in improving our bus services – as well as the Bus Services Act, it has just announced a national £3 billion multi-year funding settlement to 2029. It brings together various bus funding streams into one source and ends annual funding decisions, giving authorities the ability to plan long-term.
In the meantime, Hull and East Yorkshire has received £20.1 million revenue funding and a government grant of £19.5 million for 2025–26 to improve reliability, passenger experience and network connectivity. I have asked the Mayor for further details on how he intends to achieve those aims.
I will continue to hold the operators and the Mayor to their commitments and to press for a bus service our community can depend on.
Great British Railways is coming
We’re taking our trains back and the Railways Bill which is being debated this week will bring all the separate organisations together into a single, publicly owned body: Great British Railways. The new look for our trains has just been unveiled and we can expect to start seeing them in Spring next year.
Seven major train operators are already under public control, and GBR will absorb the remaining functions of rail infrastructure manager Network Rail, the Rail Delivery Group, and the remaining passenger franchises as their contracts expire.
With fares frozen for the first time in 30 years and a new visual identity, Great British Railways will create a service that is reliable, accountable, and back in the public’s hands.
Be flood aware
There’s been a lot of rain recently and Flood Warnings were issued for parts of the city. Fortunately, there was no actual flooding, but extreme rainfall is becoming more common with Storm Bram the latest to hit, so it is important to be aware of any developing situation.
Check for up-to-the-minute status on flood alerts in the area here
Sign up for alerts by phone, email or text here:
Get flood warnings by text, phone or email – GOV.UK
And finally…
As always, I’m here to support you. I do a face-to-face surgery every week so you can always come and see me. If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas about how I can help, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can email me at emma.hardy.mp@parliament.uk or call my office at 01482 219211. Leave a message if I’m unavailable, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.
P.S.
A huge thanks to everyone who helped organise the Hessle Christmas Lights switch on. It was lovely to see everyone having a great time and congratulations to all the bands, dancers and performers who took part.
P.P.S.
Remember the last posting day for guaranteed Christmas delivery is 17th December for 2nd class and 20th December for 1st class – see you in 2026!