Following the brief conference recess in early October and Fellowship activity in November, we take this time to look back at what engagements have taken place on IPT Fellowships during the last two months. Many individual visits and briefings took place, as well as a cross-party Industry Visit to AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre and our annual Poppy Ride.

We began the month with Baroness Smith continuing her Fellowship in Welsh Affairs, with a programme centred on promoting Welsh businesses and fostering opportunities for young people. On 2 October, Baroness Smith met with representatives from Crown Estate Scotland to explore their devolved model and discuss how a similar approach could be adopted in Wales to boost investment in the Welsh economy.

Then, on 9 October Baroness Kidron continued her Fellowship in AI regulation with a visit to Airbus’s site in Broughton, where they build aeroplane wings and support over 5,000 jobs in Wales. This visit showed Baroness Kidron how Airbus is using AI and digital tools to help workers, with a tour of the A350 factory, a look at their wing tracking system and VR suite, and a chance to meet their digital apprentices.

On 15 October, Lord Gascoigne continued his IPT Fellowship focusing on Sustainability with a briefing in Parliament from Amazon. He met with their Public Policy, Sustainability Lead UK, to discuss the work they are doing in this area, the challenges they are facing and their future plans. Through this, Lord Gascoigne got better understand how one of the UK’s largest businesses is achieving their sustainability and Net Zero objectives.

Baroness Carberry built on her first Fellowship engagement last month with a briefing in Parliament from Babcock on 20 October. Through this meeting she got to learn about their work and UK footprint. By focusing on defence manufacturing, she got to better understand the job opportunities and employment this sector offers and the work they are doing in response to the defence industrial strategy.

On Monday 3 November, Baroness Carberry of Muswell Hill visit MBDA at the London Head Office. Here she took part in a roundtable discussion with senior figures at the business, discussing their work and footprint in the UK, some of their key sites and the job opportunities they offer, and finally their plans and prospects.

Then, on Wednesday 5 November the IPT hosted the annual Poppy Ride in partnership with the Royal British Legion. With over 60 MPs taking part, members raced each other for 5 minutes on stationary exercise bikes to raise funds and awareness for the Poppy Appeal. Retaining their respective titles, Helen Maguire MP won the female competition, and Ben Spencer MP retained his title as four-time overall champion.

On Friday 7 November, Luke Taylor MP continued his Fellowship with a visit to Go-Ahead’s Metrobus depot in Crawley. The visit opened with a briefing in their offices, where they outlined their transition to zero emission buses, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities, and the role of hydrogen in this journey. Luke then toured the hydrogen facilities at the depot, including the refuelling station, before taking a ride on the hydrogen bus, which showcased the benefits of bus priority measures and the vehicle’s lightweight design by comparison to other electric buses. Meanwhile, Andrew Pakes MP completed his first visit, by seeing McCain’s site near his constituency of Peterborough. Through this visit he got to understand their operations and meet many of his constituents who work there.

The following week, Perran Moon MP continued his Fellowship in Sustainable Energy and Mining with a briefing with Ørsted. The representative from Ørsted talked Perran through their operation, highlighting their sites and how they are optimising offshore wind farming energy.

Then, on Thursday 20 November, Sadik Al Hassan MP and Lord Mair visited AstraZeneca’s Discovery Centre in Cambridge, a leading R&D hub with over 2,000 scientists driving drug innovation. The delegation toured state-of-the-art labs, including the High Throughput Screening facility where robotics accelerate testing of compounds, before joining a roundtable led by Shaun Grady, UK Chair, who outlined AstraZeneca’s global collaborations and future vision.

On Monday 24 November, Catherine Atkinson MP continued her Fellowship in Skills and Apprenticeships with a briefing from Corndel. CEO James Kelly and Director of Public Affairs Michelle Di Leo outlined Corndel’s role as a strategic skills partner, delivering accredited apprenticeships and tailored programmes for the NHS and third sector. Through Corndel Academies, they work with leading employers to provide high-quality, work-based training, fully funded via the Apprenticeship Levy.

Finally, on Tuesday 25 November, Baroness Blower continued her Fellowship, with a focus on apprenticeships and opportunities for young people in the creative sector, with a briefing from ITV. They showcased the range of pathways available through its ITV Academy, including Production Training Schemes, Apprenticeships, Graduate Programmes, Paid Placements, and Work Experience, all designed to open doors for the next generation of talent.

We would like to thank all our supporting organisations for making these visits possible, as well as all the parliamentarians who have engaged with the Fellowship Programme and our annual Poppy Ride.