IPT in Parliament
The IPT is often mentioned in parliamentary debates and questions by MPs and Peers. Below are listed the most IPT's most recent appearances in Parliament, courtesy of the
TheyWorkForYou.com website.
During Prime Ministers Question Time (13th June, 2007), Tony Blair congratulates the Industry and Parliament Trust on its thirtieth anniversary.
Business and Society (12 June 2013)
Lord Bilimoria CBE DL (Crossbench)
At an Industry and Parliament Trust event last week, I chaired a dinner where the theme was trust in business and government. I was shocked when statistics were quoted: only 17% of the public trust business. Event worse, a poll was taken after the Olympics in which the question was "Are you proud of Britain?". Overwhelmingly the public were proud of Britain. However, when asked, "Are you proud of British business?", 4% said they were. That is shocking.
Jobs and Business (10 May 2013)
Jim Fitzpatrick MP (Poplar and Limehouse, Labour)
I missed yesterday’s debate as I was on an Industry and Parliament Trust visit to the ports of the great river Humber. I visited the ports of Hull, Immingham and the other Humber ports and heard about the plans for them. There is a planning application with the Secretary of State and I wish them well with that, because Green Port Hull is a very important piece of our shipping infrastructure, and is important for the development of wind farms in the North sea. It will be extremely important, and it is one of the projects that we want to see progressing as quickly as possible.
Tax (Developing Countries) (17 Jan 2013)
Pauline Latham OBE MP (Mid-Derbyshire, Conservative)
I am pleased to speak in this debate on the report on tax in developing countries published by the Select Committee on International Development. It is difficult for us to lecture other countries when we do not have our own house in order. I am pleased that the Chancellor is considering how he might tax companies that are not paying their fair share of tax here because, like developing countries, we need tax to address our deficit if we are to continue—and we will continue—to fund international development and many other things. I will be pleased when the Chancellor of the Exchequer returns to tell the House of Commons exactly how he will do that, because it is important. I completely support my two colleagues who spoke before me, my right hon. Friend Sir Malcolm Bruce and Richard Burden.
I will focus on the part of the report on the role of the extractive industries transparency initiative, which was mentioned by both my colleagues. I am particularly interested in that topic, on which I have tabled written parliamentary questions, and next month I will be visiting a coal mine in South Africa with the Industry and Parliament Trust. I was going to go to a diamond mine, but I have been downgraded, although there will be no problem with free gifts at the end of the visit.
Careers Advice in Schools for 12-16 Year Olds (23 Oct 2012)
Gordon Birtwistle MP (Burley, Liberal Democrat)
Careers advice is not given enough importance in schools, and there are few if any links with local employers. Local professionals do not visit schools, and time is limited for visits by students to local businesses. Careers advice is given too late to students, when they are about to leave school, but it should be given to young people from the age of 12 onwards. They do not need to make a decision then, but they need to know what careers will be available when they leave school. I am presently doing an Industry and Parliament Trust course with Total Oil, which has told me that it has more than 1,000 vacancies in the UK. I have been round lots of schools in Burnley and mentioned this to the young people, and not one has ever been advised about careers in the oil industry and, in particular, with Total.
Aerospace Industry (12 Sep 2012)
Ian Lucas MP (Wrexham, Labour)
In passing, I should mention that I am grateful to GKN for providing me with an Industry and Parliament Trust Fellowship back in, I think, 2003-04. It gave me a great insight not only into the company and the aerospace industry more generally, but into the onset of globalisation, its challenges and the work that a large manufacturing company needs to do to deal with it.
In all my dealings with the aerospace sector, I have been struck by how good it is at engaging with MPs—not only local MPs, but anyone who shows an interest in the industry. It is keen to work with both Government and Back Benchers to extend the appreciation of the industry. The general public still have not got the fact that we are leaders in aerospace—I take part of the blame for that, because I was the Minister for a year—so we need to repeat that fact consistently.
Airbus, which is next to my constituency, has been a great friend to me over many years. AgustaWestland has kept me informed about the exciting developments in the civil helicopter sphere in which it is involved. The ADS group, as a collective organisation, works extremely hard to promote the aerospace industry in the UK.
Public Bill Committee: Finance Bill: Clause 31 - Tax treatment of financing costs and income (12 Jun 2012)
Ian Mearns MP (Gateshead, Labour)
Some hon. Members will be aware that I am currently doing a Fellowship with the Industry and Parliament Trust that involves working with small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as some larger companies. I think there is a measure of incredulity among the owners of small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as some large businesses, when they see companies such as Vodafone not paying what everyone would regard as their share of this country’s tax burden.
Rachel Reeves (Leeds West, Labour) Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury
I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for his work with the Industry and Parliament Trust. Those of us who have an association with the trust will know the excellent work that it does to ensure that Members on both sides of the House are in touch with industry and understand some of its concerns, and it is valuable to bring those experiences to the House and to Bill Committee such as this. My hon. Friend makes the point that small businesses, as well as many medium-sized and large businesses, try to do the right thing, invest, employ people, grow their businesses and pay their fair share of tax, and they want to see that everybody is doing that, not only them.
Backbench Business — [Un-allotted Day]: Manufacturing (24 November 2011)
Jessica Lee (Erewash, Conservative)
Through the Industry and Parliament Trust, several MPs recently visited Rolls-Royce. It is an extraordinary site, and I encourage all Members to go. Mr Wright, who is seated on the Opposition Front Bench, also attended, and that day everybody was completely mesmerised and impressed by the company’s workmanship, expertise and groundbreaking work.
City of London — [Christopher Fraser in the Chair] (14 October 2009)
John Grogan (Selby, Labour)
About two years ago, I went on a course entitled "An introduction to the City", organised by the excellent Industry and Parliament Trust. During week 4, one of our number-there were meant to be 10 of us there-was missing. That person turned out to be my hon. Friend Kitty Ussher. We inquired as to her whereabouts and found that she had been made Minister with responsibility for the City after just three weeks on the course. I did not receive similar preferment; I just got a certificate at the end of the period.
[Jim Sheridan in the Chair] — India (12 May 2009)
David Amess (Southend West, Conservative)
I am honoured to be a trustee of the Industry and Parliament Trust. As such, I was fortunate enough to lead a delegation to India. It was a two-centred visit—to Mumbai and Chennai. I shall go into detail about that presently, but I take this opportunity to thank everyone in the trust for the magnificent work that they do in these increasingly turbulent times for Members of Parliament, bringing them up to speed on a number of crucial issues.
I remind the House that the IPT is a registered charity. It was set up to foster understanding between those who create and maintain the industrial wealth of our country—including legislators, who unfortunately might be seen in many quarters as the sales prevention team. I would robustly resist that charge, but some believe that Members of Parliament do not live in the real world and that they have no understanding of what it is like to run a business. (...)
Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire, Liberal Democrat)
I thank all of those who created the opportunity for parliamentarians to visit India and see first hand the experience of British businesses in India and those Indian businesses that are having such an impact on the UK economy. The Industry and Parliament Trust provides a vital link between business and Parliament. It was a fascinating and useful trip that greatly added to my understanding of both business and India.
Guide to the Rules Relating to the Conduct of Members (9 February 2009)
Andrew MacKinlay (Thurrock, Labour)
Some years ago I participated in the Industry and Parliament Trust scheme with BAE Systems. I am proud of that experience, which was very successful and I think that it was mutually beneficial.
[Mr. Eric Illsley in the Chair] — British Business (China) (15 October 2008
Bill Olner (Nuneaton, Labour)
I hope that it will be a distinct pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Illsley. I am delighted to have secured this debate on a crucial topic. It was important in May and, given the global situation, it is even more important now that British businesses can operate globally and particularly in China. I am delighted to see here today so many of my colleagues who accompanied me on the Industry and Parliament Trust's most informative and highly educational visit to China in May—[Interruption.] I am gently reminded that we went to Shanghai, which I thought was in China! We did spend some time in the Shanghai region though.
Mark Hendrick (Preston, Labour)
I concur with what my hon. Friend says about the IPT and the way in which it is branching out, not only in the UK, but across Europe and globally. I was fortunate enough yesterday to receive my fellowship to the IPT from PricewaterhouseCoopers, to which I pay tribute not only for providing me with that opportunity, but for the chance to visit Brussels and Shanghai to see its business operations in those places.
David Amess (Southend West, Conservative)
I congratulate Mr. Olner on securing the debate. As so many people wish to speak, I shall dump most of my speech and talk about suits, ties and watches on another occasion. I congratulate the Industry and Parliament Trust on this initiative. The hon. Gentleman is the chairman of the group, and the delegation was ably led by him and Ben Chapman. They did a splendid job, and I believe that every member of the delegation got something out of the trip.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the wonderful staff at the IPT, which is a wonderful organisation. I did my fellowship donkeys' years ago with Esso, and am hoping to start a masters with Bank of America shortly. I understand that it will want to fly me to New York, so I am greatly looking forward to that. But as someone who had never been to China, the opportunity to go there changed my mind dramatically about a number of issues.
The chief executive of the IPT, Mrs. Sally Muggeridge, stated:
"This fellowship was a fantastic educational opportunity for the group of MPs to gain a strong knowledge of issues surrounding China relevant to industry in the UK together with first-hand experience of business and growth in the country.
The China Fellowship was a natural extension of the IPT's work over the past 30 years in encouraging parliamentarians to improve their knowledge and understanding of business and the issues that affect it. Many of the delegates have already completed an 18-day IPT fellowship programme spending time within UK business."
Derek Wyatt (Sittingbourne and Sheppey, Labour)
I thank my hon. Friends the Members for Nuneaton and Shanghai (Mr. Olner) and for Wirral, South and Beijing (Ben Chapman) for the way that they masterfully looked after us in Shanghai. It was by some way the best trip I have ever been on. It was the best prepared trip—we had a number of seminars, language tuition and a marvellous pre-run before we got there.
Everyone has said "Well done" to the Industry and Parliament Trust and I commend it for its utter professionalism, which was outstanding. I, too, have done an IPT fellowship: mine was with Motorola 10 years ago. Motorola was the first company in America to be in China, 25 years ago. That was a hard call.
Graham Allen (Nottingham North, Labour)
I have only one or two brief points to make, because my colleagues have made their points eloquently about the importance of the visit.
I shall not compliment IPT more than to say that the trip was the hardest-working one that I have ever been on, and the most fun, because, as my hon. Friend Derek Wyatt said, we were properly prepared. That is not always the case with such visits. I thank all those who were involved in making the trip work by doing so much advance work with us, so that we understood what we were seeing when we got out there.
Jeremy Browne (Taunton, Liberal Democrat)
I congratulate Mr. Olner on securing the debate and Ben Chapman on his joint leadership of the delegation, of which I was a part. I thank the Industry and Parliament Trust and the many British companies including Virgin, PricewaterhouseCoopers, BP, GKN, Arup and others who helped to make the trip so informative and such a success.
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (Cotswold, Conservative)
It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr. Illsley. It is also a great pleasure to take part in a debate secured by my old friend Mr. Olner. I shall let hon. Members into a little secret. I did my Industry and Parliament Trust fellowship with British American Tobacco and I used to be given free cigarettes, which I gave to the hon. Gentleman. I hope that that has not contributed to the fact that he is retiring from the House at the next election. The House will miss him sorely when he does retire. It was great to hear from him this morning.
Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East, Labour)
Thank you, Mr. Illsley, for guiding us this morning. I thank my hon. Friend Mr. Olner for hosting our debate.
As we heard, the genesis for this debate was the Industry and Parliament Trust's visit to Shanghai and Suzhou in May. We heard many contributions from hon. Members who were on that trip. The visit obviously had a profound effect on those who went. We also heard praise for the IPT. I read with pleasure the blogs, diaries and various accounts written by hon. Members during and after their trip. What struck me was the scale and speed of the changes in China, which had an impact on everyone on the trip.
[Mr. David Amess in the Chair] — Refuse Collection (28 February 2008)
Dan Rogerson MP (North Cornwall, Liberal Democrat)
I am also engaged in a fellowship with the Industry and Parliament Trust. Unlike other Members who may have had sexy assignments in different industries, I have been doing mine in the waste industry, but it has been fascinating working with the Waste Recycling Group of Northampton. I thank Mike Snell and all the other people at the company for giving me an induction into the culture of the waste industry.
Tributes: Lord Weatherill (8 May 2007)
Lord Williamson of Horton (Crossbench)
I particularly remember the Industry and Parliament Trust which he chaired for nine years and supported very effectively, reflecting both his affection for Parliament and his links with commerce and industry—particularly small businesses, since he was not only a great parliamentarian but also, from experience before he entered politics, the best tailor in the House.