We are delighted to have kept pace with the IPT’s Fellowship Programme in November. As the month draws to a close, we reflect on some of the visits that have taken place in November.

We began on 12 November, with Damien Egan MP beginning his Fellowship in Aerospace and Defence with a briefing in Parliament with the ADS Group, who represent businesses in the Aerospace, Defence and Security sectors. Damien received an overview of the sector, the challenges they are facing, and what the future of the sector could look like.  

On 12 November, Lord Young of Old Windsor began his Fellowship on the importance of British brands with visits to the London offices of Walpole and the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade. His visit with Walpole outlined their role as a representative body, advocating for the interests of their members in the luxury space. The visits enabled him to better understand the importance of luxury brands to UK trade, and the role of British brands internationally. Lord Young’s second visit with the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade outlined the current situation of British exports and trade, the challenges being faced in this area and what the future might look like.

On 14 November, the IPT hosted an industry visit with Viasat (formerly Inmarsat) to their headquarters in East London. The visit, attended by three parliamentarians from Labour, Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats, offered the opportunity for the MPs and Peers to tour the satellite and network control facilities including a VR demonstration. Afterwards, the parliamentarians engaged in a roundtable discussion covering topics such as the application of AI to the space sustainability challenge and the new satellites being launched in the next few years.

Baroness Kidron continued with her Fellowship Programme on 18 November, focusing on the practical applications of AI with a visit to the Aerospace Technology Institute in London. Discussions took place on the Institute’s mission to drive innovation in aerospace through the adoption of emerging technologies like AI. The briefing also covered the challenges and opportunities of integrating such technologies into the sector, alongside early findings from ATI’s ongoing thought leadership exercise.

On 18 November Lord Young travelled to Derby to visit the Rolls-Royce manufacturing site to discuss the importance of the brand to UK Exports and Soft Power. Lord Young was taken on a tour of the site to see the operations and manufacturing carried out here in the aerospace sector. This was followed by a working lunch during which trade and export policy was discussed, highlighting the successes and challenges that Rolls-Royce are facing.

Lord Kempsell began his Fellowship on 21 November with a visit to Anglo American’s London headquarters. The visit covered the role they play within the mining industry. Through a roundtable discussion, he better understood the sector and their mining operations internationally, the challenges they are facing and the future plans and targets for the business.

Finally, on 28 November, six parliamentarians from both the Conservative and Labour parties, visited the Tate and Lyle Refinery in East London. The visit provided the parliamentarians with the opportunity to tour the refinery and learn about the products produced by Tate and Lyle. Further engagement took place in a roundtable discussion with Senior Executives around Industrial Decarbonisation, Skills and Apprenticeships, and Tate and Lyle’s close and enduring partnerships in the local community. 

We would like to thank all the businesses and parliamentarians involved in November’s IPT Fellowship Programme visits for their support and work on these engagements.