July 2025 Monthly Newsletter

July 4th was the first anniversary of the 2024 General Election. Despite the many challenges that the Government inherited, we have:

Kickstarted long-term Economic Growth – Raised the minimum wage for over 3 million workers, delivering a £1,400 pay rise for full-time staff, and cut interest rates four times to ease mortgage costs.

Cut NHS Waiting Times – Reduced waiting lists by nearly 250,000, delivered 4.2 million extra appointments.

Expanded Opportunities for Children and Families – Rolled out school-based nurseries and breakfast clubs, capped uniform costs, extended free school meals to 500,000 more children.

Began recruiting 13,000 additional neighbourhood police officers, supported by £200 million funding.

Boosted Defence and National Security – Announced plans to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035, marking the largest sustained increase since the Cold War.

Gaza crisis 

Throughout July, the UK Government and many in the international community continued to do everything possible to end the worsening civilian humanitarian crisis in Gaza. At the time of writing, both sides in the conflict had not agreed a ceasefire and hostage release. 

This has to be the basis for ending the suffering, easing the tensions across the Middle East and working towards the two-state solution for a safe and secure Israel co-existing peacefully alongside a viable and sovereign Palestinian state.

As you will be aware, the Prime Minister announced on 29 July that the UK Government will recognise of a Palestinian State in September before the UN General Assembly, unless the Israeli government takes substantive steps to end the appalling situation in Gaza by allowing the safe distribution of aid, agree a ceasefire, makes clear that there will be no annexation in the West Bank and commits to a long-term peace process that delivers a Two State Solution.

Similarly, the Government has been demanding for some time that the Hamas terrorists responsible for the 7 October atrocities and the oppression of Palestinians must also agree to a ceasefire, release all hostages and disarm – accepting that they can have no role in Gaza and any viable Palestinian state.

The Government will make an assessment ahead of UN General Assembly on how far the parties have met these steps. Neither side will have a veto on recognition. 

The women bring it home 

On a far happier note, in late July it was a joy to see England’s footballing Lionesses retain their title as the European Champions. Back in June I introduced a change to extend licensing hours for the semi-final and final of the tournament if England or Wales had reached those later stages.

This allowed pubs and bars to stay open later so fans could come together watch the Lionesses in action and celebrate their historic victory, I hope giving our hospitality businesses a welcome boost in the process. I am proud of the incredible success of our women footballers and send my congratulations to the team.

As ever, if you want to keep in regular touch in ‘real time’ with my Home Office, Parliamentary and Constituency work, please see https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office and https://members.parliament.uk/member/1533/contributions; and follow me on social media.

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Working for safer streets

The Police are key to building safer communities. In July I spoke to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and  joined the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) to discuss putting more officers on the beat, tackling town centre crime and taking knives off our streets.

The Government’s mission to halve knife crime within a decade requires radical measures. I recently met with retailers and manufacturers to discuss safer rounded tipped knives. From 1 August, in line with our manifesto pledge, we banned the sale of Ninja swords.

I also visited the Marcus Lipton Community Enterprise in Lambeth with Helen Hayes MP to see the London Violence Reduction Unit's MyEnds programme in action. Their community-led violence prevention work is making a real difference to young lives, diverting young people away from crime and especially organised crime networks.

Drug gangs destroy communities and exploit the most vulnerable in society. I joined British Transport Police on a deployment in Brighton to see first-hand the ways they are working to disrupt and deter gangs, especially those exploiting young people.

Car and vehicle crime remains a major issue around the country, affecting far too many working people, disrupting their lives – for example, in being able to get to work or get children to school.  I attended a Car Crime Summit in Barnet and also paid a visit to Jaguar Land Rover in Coventry to see the latest technology in car security.

I also visited Southend-on-Sea in Essex to see the positive work being done as part of the Summer Safer Streets Campaign.

Another growing area of crime is mobile telephone thefts. I responded for the Government in a debate on this issue. With evidence of the involvement of organised crime networks, action in this area is also an important Government priority. See https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/15057d1b-c668-4333-b360-c9ac48d001f8?in=16:43:35&out=16:53:34.   

I made a Statement announcing an Inquiry into the events at Orgreave in 1984, during the miners’ strike see https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/489866f7-3943-4bc7-b50c-8b333109ba55?in=13:49:44.

I also spoke in the House responding to questions about criminal activity by occupants of asylum hotels – see https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/637ba807-7117-415f-80e5-b6ac5594393c?in=15:46:56&out=15:50:17.

Bravery recognised 

Of all the events I attend as Policing Minister in July the one I would pick out as the most moving was the Police Federation’s 2025 Police Bravery Awards. 15 police officers from eight regions were awarded for exemplary acts of bravery in the line of duty, including Humberside’s PC Daniel Boothby who showed exceptional bravery and dedication while responding to a concern for the safety of a vulnerable person.

I had the special honour of presenting the overall national award to Sergeant Gregory Gillespie, Constable Luke Holden and PCSO Timothy Parry, from Merseyside Police. These officers were first on the scene and confronted the killer of Alice da Silva Aguiar, Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe at Southport last Summer.  The 29th of July marked the first anniversary of those terrible events. 

July also saw the 20th anniversary of the 7/7 terrorist attack in London and it also served as another reminder of the bravery of our frontline emergency services and the challenges they face, alongside the security services tasked with keeping the public safe.

Promises to keep

July was another eventful month of Government policy announcements.

NHS Ten Year Plan

This month, the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary announced a comprehensive ten-year plan for the NHS. This plan builds on the progress the Government has made since taking office last July — including the delivery of 4.1 million extra NHS appointments and a reduction in waiting lists by over 200,000.

We must seize the opportunities provided by new technology, innovation, and medicines, to deliver better care for all patients — no matter where they live or how much they earn — while delivering better value for taxpayers.

That is why the Government has introduced a plan centred around three major shifts in how the NHS operates:

• From hospital to community – expanding community health services that deliver care closer to home.

• From analogue to digital – using technology to modernise systems and make it easier to book appointments.

• From sickness to prevention – improving public health and encouraging healthier lifestyles and early intervention.

Here in Hull, I’ve received a considerable number of letters and emails from constituents raising concerns about NHS services; including difficulties accessing dentistry, pharmacy closures, long waiting lists, and the daily 8am scramble for GP appointments.

This plan seeks to address many of those concerns. For example:

• Community pharmacies will be empowered to offer more clinical services and play a key role in neighbourhood healthcare. Community healthcare will also free up appointment space in hospitals.

• Access to NHS dentistry will be improved by reforming the dental contract, increasing the number of NHS dentists and boosting children’s oral health.

• Booking appointments will become simpler and more accessible, with the NHS App upgraded using AI and digital tools ending the 8am scramble for appointments

This is a vital step in getting the NHS back on its feet and building a health system fit for the future.

Best Start Family Centres

This month the Government announced plans to open Best Start family hubs in every council in England. These Hubs will offer centralised support to parents and young people in areas such as early education, childcare and health advice.

They do this by bringing together key services like youth clubs, debt advice, employment support and midwifery support under one roof. It is estimated that these plans will support 500,000 more children in the most disadvantaged areas. This is a key part of our plan for change and how we’ll make sure a record proportion of children – tens of thousands more each year – are school-ready by age five.

Votes at 16

Modernising our democracy by allowing votes for 16 and 17 year olds in all UK elections is a campaign that I have supported since first being elected in 2005.

This will bring UK elections in line with elections in both Scotland and Wales and give young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, the right to vote on issues that affect them. It encourages positive habits amongst young people and I believe that the argument that this democratic right should be denied to young adults because some of them claim not to be ‘ready’ is a weak one.

Other major reforms that were announced that will play a role in making our system fairer and more democratic are plans to extend voter ID to include bank cards to help more people exercise their democratic right as well as new rules to guard against foreign political interference and to prevent the abuse of campaigners.

Water Industry reform

The Government also made announcements in July on reforming the privatised Water Industry. This came in response to the final changes set out in July by the Independent Water Commission. This will involve several key planned changes to the water sector, including a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales.

In England this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England. It would also create a powerful new water ombudsman with legal powers to protect customers in disputes with their water company. These reforms will restore trust in the water sector; an area that has been failing customers and bill-payers for too long.

A future for football

The Football Governance Act received Royal Assent this month, delivering on another manifesto promise. This new law will give football fans greater control over how their clubs are run. It does so by establishing an Independent Football Regulator (IFR), which will help protect clubs across the country and represents the most significant reform to football governance in a generation.

In recent years, fans of clubs such as Bury, Macclesfield Town, Bolton Wanderers, and Derby County, among many others, have suffered the consequences of financial mismanagement. The Act aims to improve financial sustainability by introducing a set of rules designed to strengthen resilience across the top five men’s leagues.

Football is not only a major contributor to our economy, but it is also a vital part of communities across the country. Here in Hull, our local football team is a huge source of community pride and belonging. The Football Governance Act will help protect clubs like Hull City, ensuring that fans are placed at the heart of the game.

Welfare Reform

The Universal Credit and Personal Independence Payment Bill was debated in Parliament during July. This aims to fix our broken welfare system. Before voting for the Bill, I listened to feedback from constituents – including those frustrated by lack of support to work and those anxious about proposed changes.

There are three core areas of reform:

1. Supporting people into work – Government is aiming rebalance Universal Credit to remove disincentives and increasing payments by £725 per year for a single adult over 25. We are also investing £1bn annually in work, health, and skills support and introducing a “right to try work” without risking reassessment.

2. Improving assessments – The Government is launching the Timms Review of the PIP assessment process, co-produced with disabled people, to ensure it reflects modern-day needs. No changes to eligibility will be made before this concludes in 2026.

3. Protecting the most vulnerable – Those with severe, lifelong conditions or who are terminally ill will be exempt from reassessment and continue to receive the higher rate of support, with annual increases in line with inflation.

These reforms aim to create a fairer, more compassionate system – one that supports those who can work and protects those who can’t. I supported this Bill and will continue working to ensure the system is fair, sustainable and future proof.

Also in Parliament...

As only the 284th woman ever to be elected to the House of Commons in its history, compared to over 12,000 men, it was a pleasure to attend a photocall in July with other women Parliamentarians to mark 97 years since women first gained the right to vote.

On the subject of inspiring women, I was also delighted to see the exhibition in Parliament about the 1888 matchgirls’ strike in Bow. For those who know the history, these were the events that led directly to changes in the labour movement that created the Labour Party just over a decade later.

Green Energy Innovation around the Humber

The Government has a clear commitment to UK energy security and achieving Net Zero by 2050 and the Humber Energy Estuary will have to have a prominent role in this. It also has the potential to bring jobs, investment and regeneration to the Hull and Humber area.

It was therefore a pleasure in July to visit HiiROC’s Hull site on Hedon Road to see their innovative clean hydrogen technology in action. HiiROC is developing a zero-emission method for producing hydrogen through thermal plasma electrolysis — a groundbreaking alternative to conventional, carbon-intensive processes. This work is central to the Humber’s green energy future.

I also visited Drax Power Station in July to hear about their work supporting the Net Zero transformation and the growing role of artificial intelligence in energy systems. Drax is collaborating with the University of Hull to explore how AI can make our energy grid more efficient and responsive.

With projects linked to the Government’s Clean Power target, companies such as Drax and HiiROC are playing a vital role in our region’s energy transition, driving job creation regionally and much-needed economic growth nationally. The Humber Estuary is well placed to lead the UK in clean technologies such as bioenergy and carbon capture and storage (BECCS), alongside the offshore wind energy industry that has been established at Siemens in Hull since 2014.

It is for these reasons that Hull MPs and colleagues in local authorities and the business community have been concerned to hear statements from Reform UK that not only deny the scientific reality of climate change, but have also been actively hostile to green energy and renewables. This sector is the leading driver of growth and regeneration, including of our rail infrastructure, in our region. Green energy technology is the economic future for Hull and East Yorkshire – not fossils fuels and fracking.

Working cross-party we will be seeking to clarify whether the new Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor will support the new green investment for our region, which he has previously indicated will be his stance, or whether he will go down the damaging route set out by Reform’s national leadership and followed by the Reform Mayor in Lincolnshire.

Tackling Homelessness

The new Government immediately increased spending on tackling homelessness, is legislating to repeal the 1824 Vagrancy Act that criminalised rough sleeping and is boosting the building and renovation of social and affordable housing over the coming decade. This is central not only to addressing housing need, but to growing the UK economy.

I always like to keep in touch with what is happening locally on these issues and in July I visited Emmaus Hull and East Riding on Lockwood Street to meet staff and residents at  “The Orchard”. This is a residential community providing formerly homeless individuals with shelter, support and meaningful work. It was encouraging to see how Emmaus combines social enterprise and comprehensive care to help people rebuild their lives. I fully support community-based models like Emmaus, tackling homelessness through practical support, housing and meaningful opportunities.

I hope that this work locally can be further energised by the Government’s initiatives across housing, health and education.

Type 1 Diabetes Awareness

In July, I met with constituents John and Emma Story, who tragically lost their two-year-old daughter Lyla earlier this year due to undiagnosed Type 1 Diabetes. Lyla’s heartbreaking story is a reminder of how vital early diagnosis and awareness can be. Despite showing clear symptoms commonly referred to as the ‘three Ts’ — tiredness, thirst and frequent toilet use — no diabetes test was carried out during her GP visit just 16 hours before her death.

John and Emma are now campaigning for a national policy to ensure that any child showing early signs of diabetes is tested as a matter of routine. They are also campaigning for better training for healthcare professionals and greater public awareness. I support them in this important and potentially life-saving campaign and will be seeking to raise the issues at the highest level of government.

Backing our Specials

Meeting dedicated police officers and police service staff around the country, and celebrating examples of policing at its best, is one of the most inspiring aspects of my work as Policing Minister.

It is even more pleasurable when I get the chance to do this locally. In July I was pleased to meet John Philip, Chief Officer of Humberside Police’s Special Constabulary, to congratulate him on recently being awarded the prestigious King’s Police Medal (KPM) for his 37 years of dedicated voluntary service. I also discussed the challenges and opportunities facing our volunteer police force.

The Special Constabulary plays a crucial role in community policing and are an important part of the Government’s plans to boost neighbourhood policing. John’s leadership has helped increase the number of trained volunteers across the region.

The Government is working to strengthen support for volunteers in policing through expanded training opportunities and stronger recognition of their contributions. We want to make it easier for people from all backgrounds to serve their communities through policing.

Flood insurance

This Summer from my Hull office I am undertaking a survey of residents in Kingswood about their experience of trying to get affordable flood insurance cover. With Hull being on a flood plain, and our experiences in 2007 and 2013, this has been a longstanding issue. Projections on climate change and sea levels mean that we will clearly need further action to address issues around flood defences, resilience and flood insurance in order to give our city a viable property market in future decades.

Community life in Hull and Cottingham

It is always good to meet local people all over Hull North and Cottingham to see all the important work that goes on all year round to improve life for people around the constituency, sometimes in challenging circumstances.

I attended a Cottingham Day on 6 July. Despite changeable weather and competition from other community events going on nearby on the same day, it was good to meet many people active in community life in and around Cottingham. The same afternoon I attended the second part of the annual Avenues Open Gardens. I was impressed, as ever, with the work of green-fingered constituents.

I joined members of Hull’s vibrant Nigerian community at their event in East Hull, where I had the opportunity to meet community leader Temi Mackinde and hear about the important work being done with the Nigerian community who are playing an increasing role in the economic and cultural life of the city.

With Cllr Rosie Nicola, I cut the birthday cake as we celebrated 90 years of Greenwood Library in Orchard Park. Our libraries in Hull are so important in encouraging literacy, education and combating problems such as loneliness and isolation.

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Help Bring the National Picture Theatre to Life!

The historic National Picture Theatre on Beverley Road, Hull, is entering an exciting new phase. The bombed WWII-era cinema is being carefully preserved, and the site will soon be ready to host events—from re-enactments and school visits to community stalls and parties.

We’re looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help lead and organise a wide range of activities. You’ll need time, creativity, and the ability to work with others to bring events to life—often including fundraising.

You’ll also need to collaborate with local residents, the Council (who own the site), and the Charitable Trust overseeing the project. Facilities are currently limited, so some activities may take place off-site, but all should support our goals:

• Educating the public about WWII and the Home Front

• Preserving and promoting this Grade II listed national memorial

If you have the skills, experience, and time to help us reach beyond Hull and make this site a vibrant heritage space, please get in touch:

Hilary Byers (Treasurer)

National Civilian WW2 Memorial Trust

Email: Hilary-byers50@outlook.com

Telephone: 01482 445747

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