The busy start to the year for IPT Fellowships continued in February, with several visits and briefings taking place, topped off by two large scale group visits to two of the UK’s most important financial institutions. We are constantly reminded of the positive impact these engagements have, both on parliamentarians and businesses, and it is a great pleasure to play a part in bridging the gap of understanding between Parliament and the business community that leads to stronger legislation that is thoughtful of the challenges and opportunities facing the UK.
The month in Fellowships began on 5 February when Damien Moore MP met with LINK to learn more about access to cash and LINK’s work in maintaining access to cash in an increasingly digital payment landscape, including in rural areas. Damien followed this up later in the month with a meeting with the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and Allianz Insurance to discuss numerous insurance challenges including the risks associated with insuring Electric Vehicles and possible ways to resolve them. On 7 February, Baroness Merron of Lincoln met with healthcare company Novartis UK to learn about about the different technologies they use to create treatments along with their partnerships with the National Health Service and challenges facing the industry.
2024’s cross-party group visit programme continued on 6 February when 15 parliamentarians visited the London Stock Exchange in the City of London. The visit began with the iconic trading opening ceremony, followed by a roundtable discussion focusing on strengthening the global competitiveness of capital markets, the various initiatives LSEG is involved in to support companies transition to Net Zero and LSEG’s perspective on the use of digital technologies to tackle financial crime, drive productivity and sustain a resilient and co-operative digital economy.
On 8 February, Dame Jackie Doyle-Price MP continued her IPT Fellowship with a visit to DHL’s London Gateway. Through a tour of the facility, she got to see the logistical and distributions operation that they have there. She met with the Senior Operations Manager who explained the work of DHL at this site and their wider distribution network.
Then on 13 February, Selaine Saxby MP completed a Fellowship visit in her constituency of North Devon with a visit to a Barnstaple business Principal Doorsets. This visit was organised in partnership with the Federation of Small Business, with the Devon FSB being present on the visit. Selaine got to see their manufacturing operation and how they are providing skilled and well-paid jobs to the North Devon economy.
Friday 16 February saw Peter Gibson MP continue his Fellowship in Green and Renewable Energy with a visit to SSE’s Converter Station in Teesside which is part of the Dogger Bank Offshore Windfarm Project. This visit allowed Peter to get a better understanding of the wider project, and to see how a converter station operates. The visit also covered the skills and jobs the project is providing for the region.
On 21 February, Theo Clarke MP continued her Fellowship focused on the cultural and creative industries with a meeting with Arts Council England (ACE), hearing about the work they do, the ‘let’s create’ strategy for the coming decade and the challenges involved in funding and supporting institutions, individuals and projects such as the recovery from covid, support from central government and regional inequality, with a particular focus on the creative projects that ACE is supporting in Theo’s region of the West Midlands.
The month rounded off with a 19 strong cross-party delegation visiting the Bank of England on 29 February. The visit consisted on a series of presentations and discussions covering a range of the Bank’s work including monetary policy, inflation, interest rates and the role of agents across the regions and nations of the UK. The visit concluded with a fascinating tour of the Bank’s beautiful parlours and committee rooms.