The month of July has come to a close and Parliament is now in Summer Recess. During this quieter period in the parliamentary calendar, we look back at what parliamentarians got up to on their Fellowship Programmes during the month of July.
On the 3rd of July, Henry Smith MP continued his Fellowship about Sustainable Aviation with a parliamentary briefing with the Airport Operators Association (AOA). During the briefing they discussed the role of the AOA as a representative body, how airports are aiming to become more sustainable, and the new infrastructure required for sustainable aviation fuel.
Then, on the 6th of July, Jackie Doyle-Price MP in partnership with AB Ports visited Southampton Port. The visit included a presentation about the port, its operations, and the Solent Freeport. After this, there was a full tour of the port taking in the automotive multi-decks, bulk handling facilities, and the cruise terminals.
On 10th July, Liz Twist MP continued her Fellowship about Mental Health in the Construction Sector with a briefing with Barratt Developments Plc, one of the UK’s leading housebuilders. Liz met with Barratt’s Group Health and Wellbeing Manager to discuss the unique challenges construction faces in this area and the business’s approach to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of its workforce who work on building sites and in offices across the country.
On Wednesday the 12th, Baroness Blower commenced her Fellowship Programme with a visit to the British Youth Music Theatre Peckham, South London to learn all about its work with young people through the performing arts, both within and outside of the formal education sector. The following Monday, Gary Sambrook MP visited the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the International Manufacturing Centre in Coventry. Gary’s Fellowship is all about UK Manufacturing and this visit was a chance to learn about the WMG’s innovative research projects currently in progress, including the DER Winding Centre of Excellence and Coventry VLR.
On the 18th of July Baroness Sheehan completed an online briefing with the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO). The briefing covered the role that they are playing as part of the North Sea Transition Deal and the work they are doing to create streamlined training standards and qualifications so that skilled workers in the Oil and Gas sector can transition to the Renewable sector.
Meanwhile, Baroness Merron met with representatives from Visit Britian to discuss the future of the UK’s tourism economy. The briefing focused on the challenges Britain is facing in attracting tourists in the current climate, changes in tourist behaviour since Brexit and the pandemic and ways the industry is embracing these challenges to keep tourism in the UK thriving.
Finally, on the 27th of July, Baroness Whitaker visited the University of Plymouth to hear about the research and development they are doing into Wave and Tidal Energy. As part of the visit, she met with academics who are coming up with solutions and researching this technology, also she toured the labs and saw the facilities that they have there. The visit included presentations about their research into tidal stream energy, wave energy, subsea cables, and the system benefits of this technology.