AS January draws to a close, I’ve had time to reflect on the month that’s been, and my work for both York Outer and in Parliament. It’s been a busy start to 2025 and I look forward to the year ahead and working hard for my constituents of York Outer.
As always, I have been busy down in Parliament putting York Outer on the map and continuing as I mean to go on.
I raised the issue of flooding, including the need for defences at the Fordlands Road area with Emma Hardy, the Water and Flooding Minister and am pleased that she met with me to discuss this important scheme.
I visited the National Economic Crime Centre early in the month, to meet the team and discuss their important work around addressing fraud and safeguarding the integrity of the UK’s financial sector.
On Public Accounts Committee, we delved into the Prison Estate Capacity, and I asked officials about the delays in increasing prison capacity due to environmental rules.
I visited the Mansion House in London with their Lord Mayor for a roundtable about economic growth and the role of the financial sector in driving that, alongside the Government’s New Payments Vision.
Aviva hosted a Parliamentary Reception which I attended with colleagues. They are a great local employer in York, with the event being focussed on the positive social impact of investments around the UK.
As it was Holocaust Memorial Day, I signed the Holocaust Education Trust’s Book of Commitment to honour those who were murdered during the Holocaust and pay tribute to the extraordinary survivors who continue to work tirelessly to educate society today.
This month, I had two Ministerial meetings. Following my request in the Chamber, I met with the Minister for Policing, Fire and Crime, Dame Diana Johnson, to discuss ASB in Haxby and the need for more police on our streets, a core government commitment.
I met with Dan Jarvis, the Minister of State for Security. We spoke about a range of topics, from Companies House reform to the Government’s world-leading proposals to protect businesses from cybercrime.
I attended a delegated legislation committee meeting to approve the creation of a Mayor and a Combined Authority for Hull and East Yorkshire. Alongside existing Mayors in the region, this will help secure investment in Yorkshire and our regional economic growth.
It is incredibly important to me to be active and visible in the constituency, so January has been another month full of visits across York Outer.
I held a meeting on Assisted Dying for those who had previously written to me about this topic. I valued hearing everyone’s views on such an important topic and appreciate those who shared such personal stories with me, with thanks to the University of York for hosting.
I visited Pavers’ HQ in Poppleton, a fantastic York business, and spoke to CEO, Stuart about the remarkable work that the Pavers Foundation do in our communities.
Visiting schools is always a highlight of my week so it was a pleasure to visit Hempland Primary School in Heworth. The school council quizzed me on a range of topics, it was great to hear about their priorities such as better funding for schools. Education is always one of my top priorities, so it was encouraging to hear about the children’s commitment to climate change. Similarly, visiting the school “MPs”, who were elected by fellow students at Robert Wilkinson Primary, was encouraging to hear about their passion for road safety.
My monthly surgery was in Poppleton this month at All Saints Hall, where a range of issues were brought to me from flooding to social care. It is always great to meet with constituents to see how we can best help you so if you’d like to book a slot please do get in touch with my team.
You can email me at luke.charters.mp@parliament.uk or call my office on 01904 463 444 or send me a letter to PO Box 894, York, YO31 6HP.
I met with the team from Haxby Youth Association to talk about the fantastic work they do for the community around Haxby and Wigginton and supporting young people.
I visited Shopmobility and we spoke about how they support York residents and tourists accessing the city centre, they are currently looking for more trustees and volunteers so if you would like to get involved with a worthy cause, they would welcome anyone’s help!
I met with the CEO of York Carers Centre, Sharron Smith. They do a fantastic job at connecting and supporting York’s unpaid carers. Sharron’s story from three-month intern to CEO is a truly inspiring one and she and her team do so much good across the city.
I appeared again on Politics North with Tim Iredale, where we talked about the disgraceful pumping of sewage into our waterways and the Children and Wellbeing Bill.
It was a pleasure to be invited back to my old school, Huntington School, for the GCSE and A-Level awards ceremony and to celebrate all the students’ achievements. I am so proud to have attended such an excellent school, so it was a special moment to be invited back.
I am working every day to deliver results for York Outer and am incredibly proud to serve as your Member of Parliament. I look forward to continuing the work we have started, together, in the year ahead.
