Following a recent vote in Parliament, new rules for All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) have been agree by the House of Commons.
The new rules, which come into effect on 1st October 2023, have been put in place to improve transparency and reduce the risk of foreign influence.
The APPG for Events, which acts as the UK events industry’s official voice in Parliament, and which has been established since 2011, has confirmed that it will continue to operate under the new regulations.
The new rules are, in summary:
• MPs can only be an officer for a maximum of six APPGs, rather than unlimited
• APPGs will only have a maximum of four officers to ensure clear accountability
• Information requested from APPGs must be provided within 28 days
• Annual income and expenditure reports should be published by every group
• Annual reports detailing the work each group has done should be produced
• Annual general meetings (AGMs) should be chaired by one of a group of MPs not part of the APPG in question
• AGMs need at least eight members to be quorate
• The four officers should be held jointly and severally liable for compliance with the rules
• Groups should not have a secretariat provided or funded by a foreign government
• Officers must carry out due diligence on who is providing their secretariat
• Benefits from foreign governments must be registered
Robert Wright, managing director at events industry communications agency davies tanner, who acts as the official secretariat for the APPG and as its Special Advisor, says; “We welcome the new rules surrounding the control of APPG’s, and are committed to continuing to comply with all Parliamentary regulations. We have worked hard over the past 13 years to ensure the APPG provides the events sector with a strong voice in Parliament, working alongside three separate Chairs and dozens of Members of both Houses of Parliament, and continue to implement our Parliamentary Plan of Work during the current session”.
The APPG will also continue to support the work of The Business of Events, and contribute to its recent industry wide consultation, helping to develop a new Policy Agenda for the UK events sector.
The RT Hon Theresa Villiers MP, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet, remains as the current Chair of the APPG, with support from Vice Chairs Alex Sobel MP Member of Parliament for Leeds North West, Greg Smith MP Member of Parliament for Buckingham, Chris Green MP Member of Parliament for Bolton West,
Rachel Hopkins MP Member of Parliament for Luton South and Mark Menzies MP Member of Parliament for Fylde.
Further information on the work of the APPG can be found on its official website https://appgevents.inparliament.uk and the industry can get regular updates from the official APPG for Events X (formally twitter) feed via @appgevents.
For any further information please contact
ABOUT THE APPG FOR EVENTS
Founded in 2011 the All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) is a cross party group made up of members from both Houses of Parliament, and acts as the industry’s voice in Westminster. The APPG conducts Parliamentary enquiries, holds debates, raises official questions in the House and engages with various Ministers and departments. Members of the APPG also regularly attend industry events and conduct study tours. The APPG has been credited with the events industry establishing far stronger links with both Parliament and Government in recent years.