Minutes from the AGM for APPG for Entrepreneurship 2026
Date: 13th July 2026
External Chair: Paula Barker MP
Present: Baroness Kramer, Jonathan Davies MP, Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell, Lord Kamall, Lord Leigh of Hurley, Angus MacDonald MP, Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb, Bernard Jenkin MP, Lord Hampton, Bambos Charalambous MP, Martin Wrigley MP, Desmond Swayne MP
Elections:
Tristan Osborne MP was re-elected as Chair and Registered Contact for the APPG.
Victoria Collins MP was re-elected as Officer.
Lord Leigh of Hurley was re-elected as Officer.
Lord Bilimoria was re-elected as an Officer.
The following Parliamentarians kindly support the APPG as Members:
Angus MacDonald MP
Bill Esterson MP
Bob Blackman MP
Callum Anderson MP
Claire Hughes MP
Gagan Mohindra MP
Lauren Edwards MP
Lewis Cocking MP
Matt Western MP
Richard Quigley MP
Rupa Huq MP
Saqib Bhatti MP
Steve Yemm MP
Tom Gordon MP
Baroness Donaghy
Baroness Kingsmill
Baroness Kramer
Baroness Neville-Jones
Baroness Wolf
Lord Elliott
Lord Evans
Lord Kamall
Lord Lucas
Lord Luce
Lord Marks
The Earl of Erroll
Martin Wrigley MP
1. Quorum. The Chair confirmed that the meeting was quorate, with 13 parliamentarians present (at least one being a Member of the House of Commons).
2. Election of Officers. The following were elected unopposed as Officers of the Group:
Tristan Osborne MP — Chair & Registered Contact
Victoria Collins MP — Officer
Lord Bilimoria — Officer
Lord Leigh of Hurley — Officer
3. Approvals. The meeting approved:
the Income and Expenditure Statement for the year ending 21 April 2026;
the Annual Report; and
the Due Diligence Statement.
4. Any Other Business.
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 held two evidence sessions to gather evidence from entrepreneurs, on spinout female founders and R&D tax relief. Philip thanked the current officers for their support and involvement over the past year.
Officers and Members discussed the prevalent issues facing entrepreneurship in the UK. The Chair noted that the funding gap for scale-ups remains a longstanding challenge for entrepreneurs. Lord Kamall suggested organising joint events with other APPGs, including one on health technology.
Members also discussed the issues of NEETs, AI adoption, the entrepreneurship culture, repeat entrepreneur relief, reforms to AIM, VAT thresholds, and restrictions to the Enterprise Investment Scheme.
There was broad agreement that the current apprenticeship schemes are too focused on established businesses. Greater uptake among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), members felt, could help tackle youth unemployment. Members also suggested contributing to the Independent Report by Alan Milburn on young people and work. Microfinance, mentors, and organisations such as Business Gateway in Scotland were also raised as potentially beneficial to entrepreneurship in the UK.
Members also suggested that the Industrial Strategy's eight priority sectors, alongside the wine industry and computer games industries, could be potential areas to look into.
5. Close. There being no further business, the external Chair confirmed that the Group had complied with the requirements of the APPG Rules and the meeting closed at 14:45.
Minutes recorded by: Philip Salter (Secretariat, The Entrepreneurs Network)
Date: 13 July 2026