Policy Connect were delighted to be joined by new MPs, Ministers, and industry stakeholders at our State Opening of Parliament drinks reception on Wednesday evening. 

Held in the library at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Westminster, the reception brought together parliamentarians and our network to share their expectations for this Parliament and discuss policy priorities for the new Government. 

With stakeholders from across our policy areas, it was excellent to host an evening of speeches and networking that we hoped proved fruitful and informative for all those who attended. 

Policy Connect’s first event of this Parliament followed the King’s Speech, in which Labour’s new Government outlined 39 draft laws that it will seek to pass in this parliamentary session.  

Our teams have reviewed how the Government’s legislative programme may impact policy across sustainability, health, education and skills, and accessibility here. 

The reception opened with excellent speeches from: 

• Lilian Greenwood MP (Department for Transport). 
• Baroness Gillian Merron (Department of Health and Social Care). 
• Daniel Zeichner MP (Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs). 
• Bill Esterson MP 
• Naushabah Khan MP 
• Lauren Edwards MP 
• Alex Ballinger MP 
• Kevin McKenna MP 
• Baroness Anne McIntosh of Pickering 
• Lee Pitcher MP 
• Tristan Osborne MP 
• Barry Sheerman  
• Claudia Jaksch (CEO, Policy Connect) 

Over several hours of lively discussion, participants also discussed Policy Connect’s work and ongoing inquiries into ‘Skills in an AI Age’ and ‘Bricks and Water 4’ (coastal erosion): 

Skills in an AI age 

Building on the findings of ‘An Ethical AI Future’, the inquiry will seek to identify the areas where policy intervention is needed to support development of skills across the private and public sectors, and the general population, to fully exploit the opportunities of the technological advances in AI and manage the accompanying risks. 

If interested in receiving more information or participating, please contact alyson.hwang [at] policyconnect.org.uk (alyson[dot]hwang[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk).  

Fourth Bricks and Water Inquiry  

Chaired by Baroness McIntosh of Pickering, the Westminster Sustainable Business Forum’s latest Bricks and Water project will review the policy landscape relating to Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management and make recommendations for the new Government.  

The work will build on previous Bricks and Water inquiries and focus on – planning policy; Property Flood Resilience; flood defence funding and maintenance; and coastal change. 

The inquiry’s Call for Evidence can be accessed here. For more information, please contact robert.allen [at] policyconnect.org.uk (robert[dot]allen[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk). 

Policy Connect is also looking forward to sharing future work on: 

• Supported Employment. 
• Access to Primary Care. 
• Net Zero. 
• Mental Health. 
• E-waste, and more. 

Please contact communications [at] policyconnect.org.uk (communications[at]policyconnect[dot]org[dot]uk) if interested in finding out more about Policy Connect and our work!