We have had a busy start to the year on the IPT Fellowship Programme, with several individual visits, and a cross-party group visit taking place. Here, we look back at the engagements that took place in January.

On Thursday 8 January, Baroness Smith of Llanfaes continued her Fellowship Programme with a visit to Admiral’s offices in Cardiff. Admiral Group employs approximately 8,000 people in Wales and are Wales’ only FTSE 100 company. Baroness Smith toured their headquarters and met employees whose skills have been strengthened through Admiral’s investment in training and key professional qualifications.

The next day, on 9 February Lord Young of Old Windsor pivoted the topic of his Fellowship towards Family Businesses in the UK. He visited Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) as part of that, and met with one of their family business members, who had travelled all the way from Wrexham, despite the efforts of Storm Goretti. They discussed the role that small family businesses play to the UK economy and addressed some of the challenges they were facing.

Then, on Monday 12 January, Graeme Downie MP continued his Fellowship in Aerospace and Defense with a visit to Leonardo’s office in Edinburgh. Defence plays a crucial role in both the Scottish and UK economies. Graeme met recent graduates and graduate apprentices to explore how we can better attract young people into defence and other technical, skills‑based sectors.

Later that day, Baroness Sater visited Mars UK’s London HQ in Paddington. Here she met with their policy team and the lead on their MAP Programme to discuss their work on CSR and Employee Volunteering. Through this visit, she got to meet with employees who had recently been involved in volunteering programmes and what their experiences of that had been.

On 15 January, Damian Hinds MP began his IPT Fellowship focusing on the UK Hospitality and Tourism Sector with a briefing in parliament from VisitBritain. Through this meeting he got to explore their role in promoting UK tourism, where the sector is currently at, and some of the challenges it has been facing. Meanwhile, the IPT organised a cross-party delegation to Harwell in partnership with Nuclear Restoration Services (a subsidiary of Nuclear Decommissioning Authority). The group consisted of Dame Harriett Baldwin MP, Graham Stuart MP, Mike Reader MP, and Wera Hobhouse MP. The group received an overview of the Harwell Site’s history and future plans, discussed workforce challenges on legacy nuclear sites, and toured key areas earmarked for redevelopment and decommissioning. The visit concluded at the DIDO Materials Test Reactor, now a museum, where parliamentarians were able to view the former reactor up close.

Then, on 16 January Steve Race MP continued his Fellowship with a visit in his constituency to Exeter Brewery. Through this visit he spoke with the managing director about the work of the brewery, the challenges they are facing but also the opportunities looking ahead. They may have even got the chance to sample some of the products.

On 27 January, Baroness Berridge had a briefing in Parliament from Suez Recycling and Recovery UK Ltd. The briefing focused on their water treatment work and programmes, and was led by their Managing Director for Digital Solutions UK. Incidentally, this was also their first visit to parliament, which I hope they enjoyed as well.

Finally, 29 January was a busy day for IPT Fellowships, with three visits taking place. We had Baroness Carberry visit MBDA in Stevenage, through a site tour she got to see their maintenance and testing facilities, understand the investment into and development of the site there, and meet with graduates and apprentices who were involved in multiple schemes at the business ranging from HR to Engineering. She also met with trade union representatives and learnt about the challenges and opportunities that the wider sector was facing.

Meanwhile, Wera Hobhouse MP visited City & Guilds at their London HQ, where she met with apprentices and learners working on practical courses in Electrical and EV Charging. She got to discuss what they were working on and how they valued their courses, as well as what the wider organisation has to offer. Later that day, Kirsteen Sullivan MP visited Virgin Media O2 at their London HQ. Through their discussions she heard about the industry challenges and their investments nationally but more specifically within her constituency. She heard about their Better Connections Plan, and the work they are doing on digital inclusion, concluding with a conversation around their mobile transformation plan.

We would like to thank all the businesses and parliamentarians involved in January’s IPT Fellowship Programme for their support and hard work on these engagements. We look forward to continuing our engagement with parliamentarians on Fellowship programmes throughout 2026, furthering their understanding of business.