Dear Friend,
It wouldn’t be British if I didn’t mention the weather. It’s been very, very hot at times and I hope everyone has been managing to keep cool and carry on!
At last!!
Something that will be greatly appreciated if the hot weather continues is the Pickering Park Pool. Following the vandalism setback, I’m relieved and delighted to be able to say that the pool will be opening on Saturday 18 July! It will remain open right across the summer holidays until Sunday 6 September.
St Andrew’s Primary school traffic calming campaign
I joined students from Kirk Ella St Andrews Primary School at County Hall in Beverley as they handed over their petition calling for traffic calming measures outside their school to help keep children safe when crossing the road.
They met with East Riding of Yorkshire Council leader Anne Handley, who was very receptive to their campaign, so we’re hopeful progress will be made soon!
Eden, Lottie and Wren were fantastic ambassadors for their school and a real credit to themselves. The whole school should be incredibly proud of the campaign they’ve put together, and it’s been a pleasure to support it.
School uniform costs reduced
I know how much of a burden the cost of school uniforms can be, which is why I helped start RE:Uniform to stop perfectly good clothes going to waste and help keep costs down. It’s still going strong and they are currently on the look out for items for St Mary’s.
Now your Labour government has legislated to reduce those costs further, and from this September, the rules on school uniforms are changing, which should save families an average of £50 on their back-to-school shop.
All schools must now limit the number of compulsory branded items of uniform, including PE kit, to three items or fewer. Secondary and middle schools can require a tie in addition.
A “branded item” is not just something with a logo or name on, and not just an item of clothing.
An item can be classed as branded if, because of its colour, design, fabric or other distinctive characteristic, it can only realistically be obtained from a particular supplier or a very limited number of suppliers.
Examples include very specific shades, unique two-tone sports shirts, jumpers with unusual, coloured piping, or PE tops in a colour not commonly available from general retailers. It also covers bags, pencil cases or any other exclusive item.
A school’s uniform policy should clearly set out which items are compulsory and which are optional and be published on its website, as well as being available for all parents including parents of prospective pupils.
Schools should also ensure that opportunities to acquire second-hand uniforms are freely accessible to all parents.
Full details of the new statutory guidance (statutory = schools must follow it) here.
In more good news for parents, seven more free breakfast clubs are starting at primary schools in Hull West and Haltemprice from September
The schools include:
- Paisley Primary
- Adelaide Primary
- St George’s Primary
- Priory Primary
- Rokeby Primary
- St Thomas More
- Francis Askew
This means full bellies for children to start their day of learning, time with friends in a morning and extra time for parents to get to work. Some of these schools on the list already offer free breakfast club but this means they will have a extra funding to cover breakfast, freeing up money to spend on other resources for students.
Summer holiday activities
Of course, the schools are getting ready to close for the summer holidays and it’s that time of year when parents are looking for ways to keep their kids occupied and entertained without breaking the bank.
There are a huge range of activities available through the Healthy Holidays Hull programme: sports, dance, music, art, fun days – you name it, it’s probably here! A lot of them require advance booking but they are all free for children who attend a Hull school so check them out.
The East Riding has its Holiday Activities and Food programme with a similarly wide range of activities, which also require booking.
First Pride in Place Board meeting held
The first Pride in Place – Boulevard & St Andrew’s Quay board meeting took place this month.
It was primarily concerned with the rather dry, but very important details of procedure and admin, so that we can move ahead on the right footing to involve local residents in the more exciting process of making decisions on what they want their £20m spent on over the next 10 years.
Keep an eye out for upcoming events and opportunities to have your say and I will of course keep you updated myself.
Businesses of the week
Rockcity is on Hawthorn Avenue in Hull and is one of the UK’s leading indoor climbing centres, welcoming climbers of all ages and abilities – from children taking their first climb to climbers in their 80s. The centre attracts championship teams from around the world for training, and next week will be hosting the GB Climbing Team.
There’s lots going on – coaching and training for all levels, children’s parties, a café and workspace.
The team are really friendly and knowledgeable and it’s fantastic to have a facility of this quality right on our doorstep.
Jones Quality Meats is a much loved Hessle Road establishment serving the local community since 1984!
All their meat is locally sourced and they have a fantastic range of products from BBQ packs to gammon joints. They also do delivery so if you can’t get to them, they’ll come to you.
Steve and Darren are super friendly and will make sure you’ve got everything you need.
They’re open Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Hessle Feast
Another brilliant Hessle Feast took place on Sunday with plenty of local businesses and community groups in attendance. Huge congratulations and thanks to everyone involved. It’s a big undertaking, so special thanks to the organisers for such an enjoyable event. It was a pleasure to host Hull Butterfly City and Jenny’s cat house, and great to catch up with HEY Endo, Tower Hill Methodist Church, Hessle Youth Club and so many others.
Lost Fisherman’s Memorial Service
I attended the Lost Trawlermen’s memorial service on St Andrew’s Quay. It is always a moving event as we honour those from our community who lost their lives helping feed our country.
A huge thank you to Stand-Hull Heritage for organising it and to the City of Hull Band for their beautiful performance. It was lovely to see the young people of Hull Sea Cadets taking part in the service.
Hull4Heroes awarded Op Valour Centre status
The fantastic work that Hull4Heroes do has been recognised with them becoming the Op Valour Centre for Yorkshire and Humber region. supporting veterans and their families across Hull, East Riding and the wider Yorkshire & Humber region.
VALOUR is a £27 million UK-wide programme from the Office for Veterans’ Affairs to improve our veteran’s access to the right support at the right time. It is part of the Government’s promise to renew the nation’s contract with those who serve through its Veterans’ Strategy, which includes a new £12m fund to reduce veteran homelessness and extend Op FORTITUDE, a dedicated wraparound service for veterans at risk of or experiencing homelessness.
It was also Armed Forces Day in Victoria Square at the end of June, and it was a pleasure to see so many people there and listen to the fantastic Band of 150 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps.
Cheaper insurance for high flood-risk homes
Lots of homes in Hull are covered by Flood RE, which provides affordable insurance for flood risk properties, and I’m very proud to say that as Minister for water and Flooding I have been able to oversee reforms to the scheme which halve premiums for those in lower income households and provide incentives to add flood resilience measures to properties.
This will see premiums halved for contents-only policies in Council Tax Bands A and B (from £52 to £25 from April 2027), targeting support at those least able to protect themselves against flood costs – including renters – with no increases for Bands C and D.
Flood Re will also be introducing Flood Performance Certificates, premium discounts for homes that have flood resilience measures installed, and expanding its Build Back Better programme to make sure household repairs following flooding see them better protected should there be a next time.
You can watch my full statement here.
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.
And, if there’s anyone you think would be interested in reading this newsletter, please feel free to share it. If you’re reading this for the first time you can subscribe at contact@emmahardy.org.uk
Best wishes,
Emma Hardy MP
Hull West and Haltemprice
P.S. The Free Little Library has arrived in Hessle and is open to the public. It was the idea of Julia Steudle supported by Hessle Town Council and The Consortium Sixth Form College.
The Library itself was designed and manufactured by Y12 Product Design students Finley, Ewan, Carson, Jimmy and Lennox who have done an amazing job.
It shows what can be achieved when people and ideas come together. I would encourage everyone to come along, admire the craftsmanship and, most importantly, take a book, leave a book, or do both – all absolutely free.
The Free Little Library is located to the right-hand side of Hessle Town Hall.
What a great idea! Read the whole story here.