Minutes from the APPG for Entrepreneurship AGM 2023

Minutes from the AGM for APPG for Entrepreneurship

Date: 16th May 2023

Present: Seema Malhotra MP, Jo Gideon MP, Anna Firth MP, Virendra Sharma MP, Kerry McCarthy MP, John Hayes MP, Sally-Ann Hart MP, Paul Howell MP, Philip Salter (The Entrepreneurs Network), Eamonn Ives (The Entrepreneurs Network), Katrina Sale (Coordinator, APPG for Entrepreneurship).

Elections:

Seema Malhotra MP was re-elected as Chair and Registered Contact for the APPG.

Lord Bilimoria was re-elected as Vice-Chair.

Lord Leigh of Hurley was re-elected as Vice-Chair.

Bim Afolami MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Gagan Mohindra MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Saqib Bhatti MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Baroness Kramer was re-elected as an Officer.

Baroness Neville-Jones was re-elected as an Officer.

Jo Gideon MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Bill Esterson MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Selaine Saxby MP was re-elected as an Officer.

Anna Firth MP was elected as an Officer.

Virendra Sharma MP was elected as an Officer.

Paul Howell MP was elected as an Officer.

Ben Bradley MP was elected as an Officer.

Brendan Clarke-Smith MP was elected as an Officer.

The following Parliamentarians kindly support the APPG as Members:

Ian Liddell-Grainger MP

Catherine West MP

Bob Blackman MP

Fiona Bruce MP

James Daly MP

Katherine Fletcher MP

Nick Fletcher MP

Dr Rupa Huq MP

Dean Russell MP

Craig Williams MP

Baroness Donaghy

Baroness Kingsmill

Baroness Wolf

The Earl of Erroll

Lord Luce

Lord Aberdare

Lord Lucas

Minutes

Philip Salter, Founder of The Entrepreneurs Network (Secretariat to the APPG for Entrepreneurship) gave an overview of the work achieved by the APPG over the past year. The APPG has produced four reports exploring: tax relief on early stage investment; assessing current government support programmes for SMEs; the challenges faced by the space sector; and how schools can embed entrepreneurship into the curriculum. These reports typically involve a roundtable, a call for evidence, a written report and a launch event. The APPG has also hosted a roundtable with a US delegation of business groups. Philip thanked the current officers for their support and involvement over the past year.

Seema Malhotra MP, Chair of the APPG for Entrepreneurship, shared her thanks for the team’s efforts and commended them on the high quality of the reports and the overall engagement with parliament. It is a challenging time and many businesses are being forced to close due to the lingering impact of the coronavirus pandemic and wider global challenges. At the same time, the expectations of businesses and workers are undergoing a period of renewal as many people have stepped away from traditional employment. The role startups play in the future will be extremely important and the APPG should play a significant role in the upcoming year.

The Secretariat produced an Income and Expenditure statement for 2022 - 2023.