The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) has held its first meeting following its re-establishment as an official APPG in Parliament, to elect its officers and outline its objectives for the year ahead.
MPs from all of the major political parties attended the online meeting, chaired by Theresa Villiers, MP for Chipping Barnet, the recently appointed chair of the APPG. A number of supporting officers were also elected to the APPG, including MPs Mark Menzies, Robert Seely, Owen Thompson, Andrew Slaughter, Stephen Hammond, Robert Largan, Rachel Hopkins and Debbie Abrahams.
Theresa Villiers said: “This was a very successful meeting with lots of enthusiasm from MPs about backing the events, conference and exhibitions sector. We all agreed how crucial it is to get the industry open again, so we will be looking at how the Government can help provide certainty by supporting a number of issues, including pandemic insurance.
“This is a really encouraging start for the newly re-established APPG. I look forward to working with colleagues across parties, and from different parts of the UK, on providing a voice in Parliament for the events industry.”
The group also agreed to meet again early in the New Year, where it would be inviting representatives from various stakeholder groups to discuss how the APPG could provide support, both short term and long term, given the particular challenges that the industry continues to face.
Further information or questions can be obtained via [email protected] and the industry can get regular updates from the official APPG for Events twitter feed @appgevents.
This article first appeared in Meetings and Incentive Travel