Villiers takes over from James Heappey MP, who was Chair for four years, until his appointment as Minister for the Armed Forces prevented him from serving in that role. Robert Largan, Member of Parliament for High Peak, will serve as vice chair. The APPG will continue to act as the industry’s voice in Parliament and has been credited with establishing stronger links between the events industry, Parliament and Government in recent years.

Theresa Villiers is an experienced Member of Parliament, having served her constituency since 2005, and having previously held the positions of Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Minister of State for Transport.

Commenting on the APPG, minister Villiers said: “I am delighted that the APPG for Events is being re-established. At a time when the conference and events sector has been devastated by the Covid outbreak, it is more important than ever that we have this group working in Parliament to speak up for this crucial part of our economy.”

PR and Brand Communications Agency, davies tanner, will continue to manage the APPG, as it has done since 2011, and act as its official secretariat. It will also act as special advisors to Theresa Villiers and members of the APPG.

The APPG are in the process of inviting members from both Houses of Parliament, and from all parties, to join the group, and are targeting over 250 MPs and Peers, in particular those who have either event venues or major events within their constituencies.

A series of industry briefings are being scheduled over the coming weeks, which will form the basis of a plan of advocacy, designed to provide as much support to the industry as possible as quickly as possible, which will be published later in the year.

Further information or questions can be obtained via appg@daviestanner.com and the industry can follow further developments and updates from the official APPG for Events twitter feed @appgevents.
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