With Parliament in summer recess from the end of July and party conference season beginning in September, the past couple of months have been a quieter period for IPT Fellowships. In this blog, we reflect the visits and briefings that have taken place over the past two months.

We began on 7 August with Lisa Smart MP visiting Manchester Airport as part of her IPT Fellowship. This visit covered two of her objectives. Firstly, visiting one of the largest private sector employers in Manchester and an important business for growth and prosperity in the region. Secondly, they discussed the challenges around the border and immigration control.

Then, on 13 August, Mike Reader MP passed the halfway point in his IPT Fellowship with a policy briefing from Water UK. The session explored key issues facing the UK’s water industry, including infrastructure and sustainability.

On 26 August, Luke Taylor MP continued his Fellowship with a visit to Airbus’s Filton site, where wings for the A320, A330, and A350 aircraft are designed, tested, and manufactured – supporting around 8,000 jobs and hundreds of apprenticeships across the UK. The visit highlighted Filton’s role in Airbus’s push to decarbonise aerospace, including a gantry tour of AIRTeC and the Wing of Tomorrow demonstrator. Discussions focused on next-generation single-aisle aircraft, future fuels, and the site’s contribution to developing and testing low-carbon technologies.

Then, on 29 August, Catherine Atkinson MP continued her Fellowship with a visit to Siemens Mobility offices in Ashby. Catherine began by meeting the team and apprentices at Siemens and went on to tour the facilities at their Ashby Information Centre. The discussion centred what is being done to address skills gaps, and what steps and innovation are happening to promote transport decarbonisation and electrification.

On 3 September Baroness Carberry began her IPT Fellowship focused on the Defence Sector with a visit to ADS, a representative body in that sector who gave her an overview of the sector, the current challenges they are facing and the possibilities the future holds. They also discussed the sector’s response to the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy and what that will mean for jobs and growth in the sector.

Then, on 4 September Harriet Cross MP visited ClearBank at their London HQ. During the visit they discussed the following: The clearing market, how payment schemes work, the emerging world of digital assets. This visit gave Harriet the chance to learn more about the Financial Services sector. Later that day, Lisa Smart MP had a briefing with AB Foods, through this they discussed their work on workforce planning, ensuring the necessary skills are achieved, and there is the right skills pipeline.

Darren Paffey MP continued his IPT Fellowship with a briefing in Parliament with Pensions UK on 9 September. Pensions UK is the voice of pensions in the UK, trusted and heard by the government and the pensions industry, so they discussed the current pensions market, the challenges they are facing but also what the future holds for the sector.

Finally, on 19 September, just as Parliament went on conference recess, Gregor Poynton MP visited a business within his constituency of Livingston through the British Plastics Federation. By visiting Engineered Foam Products, Gregor got to learn more about their operations and what they are producing at this site. He also got to hear from employees about their roles within the businesses.  

We would like to thank all the businesses and parliamentarians involved in IPT Fellowship Programme over the Summer Recess and into the Autumn for their support and hard work on these engagements. We look forward to continuing our engagement with parliamentarians on Fellowship programmes in the months to come, furthering their understanding of business.