Weekly Events Blog: 22 October | IPT

Optimizing Water Usage in Future Homes

On Tuesday 22 October 2024 the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) hosted an evening roundtable for parliamentarians and leading industry representatives on Optimizing Water Usage in Future Homes. This discussion was chaired by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, the current Co-Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Water, with guest speakers Kruti Patel, Head of Water, Water UK; Tania Flasck, Director of Water Operations, Southern Water; and Dr Claire Hoolohan, Senior Lecturer at the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester. The event explored how the government, the water sector, and the public can work together to ensure high optimization of the standard of water and usage of water in future homes.

Key discussion points were:

  • The discussions and debates around water usage, water recycling and water demands needs to be as important as those around energy. Further, the two issues need to be considered together and connected where possible.
  • Time is of the essence for making a change. There is a need to act sooner rather than later on the matter, for environmental and financial purposes. By 2050, if trends continue, the UK will be using 33% more water. Demand management will account for 70% of this water. If efficient approaches are put in place soon it will cost £20bil, but if they come later, it could cost upwards of £40bil.
  • The importance of holistic approaches and collaboration across the sector, government, regulators, housing developers and the public.
  • Considering housing, infrastructure and retrofitting. Whilst water meter users tend to use 50L less water daily than those without, yet not every property is meter-able. Retrofitting properties to allow for greater recycling of water will be extremely important to overcome this issue.

Securing Futures: Considering the Impact of Insecure Work

The Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) hosted a dinner discussion on Monday the 21st of October 2024 on the topic of ‘Securing Futures: Considering the Impact of Insecure Work’. This roundtable discussion was chaired by Baroness Lister Burtersett CBE, Vice-chair of the Migration All-Party Parliamentary Group, with guest speakers Caroline Mallan, Head of Public Affairs and Media at the Chartered Management Institute and Rebecca Florisson, Principal Analyst at The Work Foundation within Lancaster University. The event explored how we can ensure fairer work practices and greater economic security for all workers, especially those experiencing insecure work and zero-hour contracts.

Key discussion points:

  • Is all work good work? Should we prioritise getting people into employment or instead change the culture around work to better the mental and physical health of all workers?
  • How can we ensure that certain socio-economic groups, already prone to experiencing discrimination in the workplace, aren’t put further at risk of experiencing insecure work?
  • Beyond clearly establishing employee rights, forcing employer compliance is essential in ensuring that working standards are upheld across industries.
  • Promoting flexibility within work schedules will also improve productivity of workers and help to sustain healthier work-life balances.
    • We must also remember the value of worker choice and how some lifestyle patterns are instead better suited to what we consider ‘insecure work’ (such as students or parents looking purely for part-time contracts)
  • From a managerial perspective, we must ensure that companies provide workers with sufficient training and support, in order to reduce the number of ‘accidental managers’ that arise in working environments.