March 2026 Monthly Newsletter

An eventful month at home and abroad

March saw the Chancellor's Spring Statement. This contained much positive news about Britain's economy - especially on inflation, growth and public finances. However, this soon overtaken by the outbreak of hostilities in Iran and around the Middle East that has caused another unwelcome energy price shock.

Challenging failure in local NHS Trust

Late March saw the announcement by the Health Secretary Wes Streeting that Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust would be included in the Government’s NHS Intensive Recovery programme. This starts work in April.

This followed news that the NHS Trust hospitals serving Hull are now at the bottom of the national performance league table out of the 134 NHS Trusts in England.

The joint statement issued by Hull MPs in response to this decision can be seen at https://x.com/DianaJohnsonMP/status/2036805269988991383.

On the same day, Hull MPs met Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting to raise our concerns about healthcare standards at Hull’s hospitals. Hull MPs had already met Minister of State for Health, Karin Smyth MP, to discuss how we can support our hardworking frontline NHS staff while securing the improvements in care that our constituents deserve.

I have also met with Trust Chief Executive Lyn Simpson and UNISON representatives who represent frontline staff, some of whom have reported a bullying culture in the Trust.

In Hull North and Cottingham, I have also been doing a survey amongst constituents about their experience of the NHS in Hull. This can be accessed at NHS Survey 2026 | Diana Johnson MP.

Lyla's Law campaign comes to Westminster

In last month's report, I mentioned the brilliant campaign of John and Emma Story to highlight the need for the early diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes, in order to save lives. This follows the tragic death of their daughter, Lyla who was not diagnosed in time.

In March I joined a cross-party group of MPs, John and Emma Story and others to hand in a petition on this issue at Ten Downing Street. This petition had gained well over 100,000 signatures from the public. I then attended both the petition debate in Parliament and the meeting at the Department of Health where John, Emma and I met with the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.

The outcome of this meeting was positive with Wes agreeing to review all the information and evidence, but the campaign will continue with my full support. Through raising awareness of the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes, lives are already being saved.

Boosting the Humber, boosting growth

At Hull's MKM Stadium, I spoke at the Annual General Meeting of Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce about the importance of the Humber to aspirations for Net Zero and stronger UK economic growth. As part of boosting growth, I also made the case for going further than recently announced Northern Powerhouse Rail plans with electrification for rail routes into Hull through the use of the developing technology of battery bimodal trains.

As part of the campaign to get rid of slower, polluting and more expensive diesel traction from the rail network, I also co-ordinated an article from Hull’s MPs in the Yorkshire Post – see https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/ditch-the-diesel-on-the-rail-line-to-hull-diana-johnson-karl-turner-and-emma-hardy-5694789.

During March, I also met First Hull Trains to discuss how we move forward with rail infrastructure modernisation and issues around the integration of Open Access rail operators into the new publicly-owned rail network.

Connect to Work delay in Hull and East Yorkshire

As mentioned in last month's report, Hull MPs have recently been concerned that our constituents have been missing out since last year on the Government's Connect to Work programme that provides tailored help for people with disabilities and health conditions to get into work.

This is a result of delays in decision-making on the part of the Mayoral Combined Authority that took over responsibility for skills and employment support work in Hull and East Yorkshire.

Following a recent exchange of letters between Hull MPs and Mayor Luke Campbell, and with the Government recently announcing £11.7m funding for Hull and East Yorkshire Connect to Work in 2026/27, I have now written again to the Mayor asking further questions on how long it will take the Combined Authority to get Connect to Work up and running in our area.

Fighting crime

During March, I also met Humberside's Police and Crime Commissioner to discuss policing issues and the ongoing work of Humberside Police combatting crime and anti-social behaviour across the area.

A service to bank on

The closure in recent years of many traditional high street banking branches, largely due to the rise of online services, has been an increasing concern for many of my constituents. I was therefore pleased to cut the ribbon at the opening of the new Banking Hub in Newland Avenue.

Headscarf Hustle

I took part again in what has become an annual fixture in Hull each March – the Headscarf Hustle. This year it took place on International Women’s Day itself. This is the ongoing campaign to raise funds for a permanent memorial in Hull to the Hull women who fought to improve safety on the trawlers in the 1960s.

Pride in Place moves forward

In March I welcomed the appointment of Jo Lorenz to lead the Orchard Park Pride in Place Community Board.

The appointment follows an overwhelmingly positive response from the community, with a number of local residents applying for the role. A selection panel made up of myself, Orchard Park Councillor Rosie Nicola and a Hull City Council officer interviewed shortlisted candidates and jointly agreed the appointment.

I will now work closely with the new Chair and the Board to guide how the £20 million Pride in Place investment from the Labour Government will be used to improve life in Orchard Park and to give the area the extra boost that it needs.

A Job of Work

During March I spoke at Work and Pensions Oral Questions on subjects that included child poverty and the engagement of JobCentres with employers.

Beyond Westminster, my responsibilities as Employment Minister saw me out and about around the country and beyond. I was in Swansea to see Connect to Work in action supporting people with disabilities or health conditions into work. In Croydon I saw the Restart Scheme giving support to the long-term unemployed.

In Stratford JobCentre in East London, I saw innovative new ways of helping people looking for work and a redesigned JobCentre. In Derby’s JobCentre I met prison leavers being helped getting into work and attended a construction open day that encouraged people to think of careers in that sector.

My longest ministerial excursion of the month was to Moldova to represent the UK at the Council of Europe’s High Level Conference on Social Rights and the Future of Work, hosted by the Moldovan government. This was an opportunity for the UK to reaffirm our commitment to the Council of Europe, of which we were a founder member, and its aim of promoting rights for all Europeans.

I chaired a conference session on the challenges we all face as work changes due to technological developments such as AI. I also had the privilege of meeting the President of Moldova Maia Sandu to discuss the ongoing threat her country faces from Russia and the work they are doing alongside the UK to support Ukraine.

Nearer to home, I spoke on several panels, including for the New Statesman and the Good Growth Foundation, at the Yorkshire and Humber Labour Party’s Policy Summit held in Bradford.

Keeping women in work

As I do every March, I attended a series of events the mark International Women's Day (IWD).

This year that included speaking alongside Mariella Frostrup at the Menopause All-Party Parliamentary Group’s IWD event where we had an important conversation about how we can support women in the workplace going through menopause. You can watch back some of my remarks here.

With Menopause Action Plans set to become mandatory from 2027 and a soft launch beginning this year, now is the moment to highlight the gains businesses and society stand to make when women are supported at this critical stage of life. I would also like to say a big thank you to my colleague Caroyln Harris MP, who continues to do brilliant work in this area.

Brought to Book

World Book Day on March 5th wa, as always, an opportunity to celebrate the joy of reading for pleasure - helping to develop reading skills in children that are so vital to attaining higher academic standards.

Sadly, reading for pleasure is at an historic low. Only one in three children aged 8-18 enjoy reading and just one in five do so daily. That's why I support the Department of Education's National Year of Reading campaign. You can find out more about how to get involved here and see the books I am reading each month on my Facebook page.

House of Lords manifesto commitment delivered

Each month typically sees reforms promised by the Government entering into law and other plans being announced. March was no different.

I have received much correspondence from constituents on House of Lords reform. I’m pleased that the Government has fulfilled another manifesto commitment through removing the remaining hereditary peers with the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Act 2026. This completes a process started a quarter of a century ago to remove the hereditary principle from the House of Lords and brings the UK more into line with other 21st Century democracies.

The next stage of reforming the House of Lords is the establishment of a dedicated Select Committee to look at how best to implement commitments on introducing a retirement age and a participation requirement for Peers.

Beating fraudsters

The Government published its Fraud Strategy which sets out an ambitious and coordinated plan on how government, law enforcement and the private sector will work together to better protect the public and businesses from fraud, minimise harm to victims and bring more fraudsters to justice - fulfilling another manifesto commitment. See Fraud Strategy.

Uniting communities

The Government's newly-published Social Cohesion Action Plan outlines a comprehensive approach to building stronger, more cohesive communities across the country. This can be read at Protect What Matters.

Beating antisemitism

The Government published a review, conducted by Sir David Bell, of how schools and colleges in England deal with the increasing problem of antisemitic hate and other forms of racial and religious prejudice. This can be read at Independent review into antisemitism in schools and colleges.

No child left behind

For too long, children and families have been let down by the Special Educational Needs (SEND) system. Teachers haven’t had the support they need to meet the needs of students. We all agree that no child should be left behind and I support the reforms recently announced by the Government, as part of the Schools White Paper: Every Child Achieving and Thriving. 

The consultation on these proposals is live and closes on 18 May 2026. If you want to help shape a modern system, please take part in the consultation at https://consult.education.gov.uk/send-strategy-division/send-reform-putting-children-and-young-people-firs/.

Child online safety

The Government is also consulting on further measures to prepare children for the future in an age of rapid technological change. This includes potential age restrictions on social media and other services such as gaming sites that have addictive features. It also sets out proposals to better support parents and families. Take part in the consultation by 26 May 2026 here.

Digital ID

A public consultation on the proposed Digital ID scheme is now open until 5 May 2026. The Government is working on three core principles to guide the design of the scheme – aiming for it to be useful, inclusive and trusted. To help shape the system and how it will work, you can submit your views and be part of the process here.