Martin FullardThe All-Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) held its first formal Evidence Session for the current Parliament, 18 January. The full agenda of what was discussed has not yet been revealed.
The online session was chaired by the Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP, chair of the APPG, and attended by a number of MPs, including several APPG vice chairs and officers, the session heard evidence from a mixture of representatives from across the events sector, including; Simon Hughes of Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP), Jane Longhurst of Meetings Industry Association, Chris Skeith of the Association of Event Organisers, Susan Tanner from the National Outdoor Events Association, Steve Heap from Events Industry Forum and Rick Stainton on behalf of One Industry One Voice.
Several observers also attended, including Michael Hirst OBE, chair of Events Industry Board, Neil Brownlee representing the Scottish Events Industry Advisory Group and Jill Manley of the Event Wales Industry Advisory Group.
A senior spokesperson for the APPG said: “We were extremely grateful for the time given by the event sector representatives in presenting their evidence to the APPG today, which was both very valuable and highly compelling. There is no doubt that the events sector needs further support, both to survive the challenges of the next few months, but also to ensure a swift and sustained recovery, and we look forward to working with the industry in partnership to achieve this.”
More information on what was discussed during the session will be published on the APPG website later in the week via its official website.