April 2026 Monthly Newsletter

Modern rights at work

April saw the implementation of a number of measures from the Labour Government's landmark Employment Rights Act, a manifesto pledge at the 2024 General Election

These changes are being introduced gradually across 2026 and 2027, allowing employers time to prepare and ensuring that workers have clear information about their new rights. This Bill represents the biggest reset to workers’ rights in a generation and, as previously happened with the National Minimum Wage, we want to ensure that the changes are introduced carefully.

From April From April 2026 Statutory Sick Pay will be paid from day one rather than after three days, as well as the right to Family Leave from day one  and  further protection for whistle-blowers – see New employment rights: Guidance for businesses and workers.

Further changes to be phased in later will include new trade union rights and reforms to protect employees against harassment.

Meeting Hull Students

Hull University is an important part of life in the constituency. Before Easter, I sat down with the Hull University Students’ Union Presidents’ team to discuss a range of issues facing students - from Post Study Work Visas to dealing with AI in the Higher Education sector.

Following this meeting, I also met with local student accommodation provider Kexgill to discuss issues stemming from a drop in the numbers of international students.

Connecting with those who Aspire

I I was also delighted to welcome Dr Franklin Onukwugha and some of the amazing young people from Youth Aspire Connect to my office. This incredible organisation based in my constituency supports young people across the community by inspiring, empowering and mentoring them through building employability skills and improving their mental health and wellbeing.

I had the privilege of listening to their experiences as young people of colour living, studying and working in Hull. They spoke candidly about the real challenges facing young people today: employability, access to apprenticeships, child poverty, crime and safety and more importantly why it is so important to create inclusive opportunities for those facing additional barriers.

Looking after our senior citizens

I visited the Age UK Hull and East Yorkshire office and spent time chatting to staff, volunteers and their service users. They provide a wide range of services for older people across Hull and East Yorkshire and I heard about their plans to celebrate Bee Lady Day this year, a campaign launched to honour the legacy of Hull’s Jean Bishop. Find out more about the Bee Lady Day activities here: Bee Lady Day | Age UK Hull & East Yorkshire.

Worth the Thwaite

I had the honour of being asked to plant a tree when I visited Thwaite Gardens in April. These gorgeous botanical gardens are tucked away in Cottingham and are managed and maintained by a dedicated team of volunteers - the Friends of Thwaite Gardens.

We hear much these days about the benefits of gardening on physical and mental health and it was a real pleasure to see so many beautiful plants being cultivated by volunteers who are so passionate about sharing their knowledge and experience. They are holding open days over the summer - see Events – Friends of Thwaite Gardens.

Investing in culture

I was pleased to be able to secure further investment four our local cultural life. Through the Labour Government’s Creative Foundations Fund, part of the £127.8 million national investment in arts and culture, Hull Truck Theatre in my constituency has received £318,911. This funding will help to upgrade facilities, improve access for schools and move ahead with essential repair work.

Hull and the East Riding will also both receive thousands of pounds in funding from the Libraries Improvement Fund for upgrades and modernisation. You can find out more here.

The return of Hull's Royal Hotel

At the end of April, Hull West and Haltemprice MP Emma Hardy and I met with Home Office Immigration Minister Alex Norris MP to discuss the continuing use, started in 2019 under the previous government, of the Royal Hotel Hull for the temporary housing of asylum seekers.

With the Labour Government committed to ending the use of hotels by the end of the current Parliament, and with the announcement in April that a further tranche of 11 hotels around the country will no longer being used, Hull MPs lobbied the Minister for the Royal Station Hotel to join, as soon as possible, those no longer being used as temporary accommodation

Getting Access to Work

In April, I spoke on behalf of the Government in a Parliamentary debate about the Access to Work Scheme. This scheme is vital to our mission to break down the barriers to the workplace for disabled people and those with health conditions. Access to Work provides essential support that people need beyond the reasonable adjustments that employers are already required to make under the Equality Act 2010. You can read the debate here.

Women's Employment Ambassador

Too many women still face barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential in the workplace and the Labour Government is determined to change this. That's why I'm pleased that we have appointed Mariella Frostrup as the Women’s Employment Ambassador to work with employers across the country to raise awareness of key health issues affecting women. Mariella is the ideal person to take this on. By championing the brilliant contributions that women make - as entrepreneurs, workers and leaders - we can unlock economic growth that benefits everyone.

Representing the UK at Skills Summit

I attended and spoke at the 2026 Skills Summit held in Istanbul by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on “Unlocking Talent Across Generations”.

Ministers and senior officials from different countries around the World took the opportunity to learn from each other’s’ experience in designing and implementing skills policy reforms in a changing labour market. Many of these issues are important to us in getting people off benefits and into work in Hull and East Yorkshire.

Usdaw Parliament meeting

It was a real pleasure to meet young workers from the shopworkers' trade union Usdaw in Parliament and hear their views about jobs and employment and some of the particular challenges young shopworkers face.

Keeping people in work

I visited Transport for London (TFL) to hear about the preventative work they undertake with employees on health and wellbeing.

TfL is one of 150 employers committed to improving employee health as part of our Keep Britain Working programme. Between them they employ around 1.5 million workers and are now part of the work led by Sir Charlie Mayfield. You can read more about this here.

Ending the two-child cap

I spoke to Stylist Magazine about the significance of lifting the two-child benefit cap and how this change will see the largest reduction in child poverty ever in a single Parliament. You can read my interview here.

Further progress on infected blood justice

During April, I was present to hear a number of important statements and debates in Parliament.

First of all, Paymaster General Nick Thomas-Symonds updated MPs on further improvements to the infected blood compensation scheme. This follows the recent additional recommendations from Sir Brian Langstaff who chaired the Infected Blood Inquiry that I campaigned for many years to have set up. You can read the full statement here.

I was also present for Sarah Bool MP’s Ten Minute Rule Bill on screening for Type 1 Diabetes. This is one of the objectives of my Hull North and Cottingham constituents John and Emma Story in their campaign for Lyla's Law. You can watch these proceedings in the House of Commons here.

Landmark Crime and Policing Bill becomes law

The Crime and Policing Bill that I took through its Commons Stage as Policing Minister a year ago  finally became law at the end of April after being discussed in the Lords since last Autumn.

As mentioned in previous reports, this Bill contains the Government’s first reforms on policing, crime and anti-social behaviour and action in a long list of areas – for example on protecting retail workers.

In recent weeks a process known as ‘ping-pong’ took place where, if the two Houses of Parliament don’t agree on the wording of a Bill, they send the Bill back and forth between each House, responding to each other’s proposed amendments to resolve disagreements.

The 15 months that the Crime and Policing Bill took to go through all of its Parliamentary stages shows how long introducing new laws can take.

Historic move forward for women

The Crime and Policing Bill was also successfully amended from the backbenches in its passage through Parliament to finally decriminalise abortion and update our Victorian laws. This marks the biggest advance for women in this area since David Steel’s 1967 Abortion Act. It’s something I have campaigned for in Parliament for many years and again shows how long meaningful but important change can take.

During  April, I also met Dawn Dines of the Stamp Out Spiking campaign to discuss measures in the Crime and Policing Bill that create a new criminal offence of spiking. Dawn has been campaigning on this issue for 20 years.

The best start in life

The Government's Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill also became law in late April. This is part of our plan to break down barriers to opportunity, raise school standards and keep children safe.

The Bill proposes a number of changes to make life easier for families, with free breakfast clubs and a cap on the number of branded school uniform items, as well as driving higher standards in schools through putting more qualified, expert teachers in classrooms to teach a cutting-edge curriculum.

The Bill will also introduce a register of children not being educated in school, so that we know where children are and if they are receiving a suitable education. I first tried to legislate for this when I was a schools minister in 2009/10 under the last Labour government, but it was opposed by the Conservatives in the final months of that Labour government.

In the new legislation, we are also revising school food standards and restricting the use of smartphones in schools.

Improve Pensions

The Pension Schemes Bill that also became law at the end of April will deliver more money for savers by making pensions simpler to understand, easier to manage, return better value over the long term and help promote investment in the economy.

Bigger, better pension schemes will give today’s workers – tomorrow’s pensioners – the chance of getting the secure retirement they deserve. I thank constituents who have contacted me to share their views on this Bill.

End of the peer

At the end of the month, we also saw the 88 remaining hereditary peers having their right to sit and vote in the House of Lords removed. This fulfils another manifesto pledge and completes a reform process that started 27 years ago when Tony Blair was Prime Minister.

One Bill that did not become law before the end of the Parliamentary session was the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. The debate around this reform will continue.

Coming next...

A list of all the Government Bill’s that have become law in the 2024-26 Parliamentary session can be seen here.

The House of Commons will reconvene for the King’s Speech on 13 May. This will start the next session of Parliament and announce a further tranche of new laws to deliver the changes that we promised in 2024.