Pictfor

Please enable JavaScript

Please upgrade your browser to view this site correctly

Attendees:

  • Baroness Blower
  • Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG
  • Caroline Dinenage MP
  • Claire Hughes MP
  • Daniel Aldridge MP
  • Lord McNally
  • Lord Russell of Liverpool
  • Samantha Niblett MP
  1. Welcome and Introduction (Dame Caroline Dinenage MP)
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP welcomed members and thanked them for their time. Noting the welcome boost in new members, Caroline then highlighted the long history of the Group and detailed its current focus.
  1. Election of Parliamentary Officers and Members (PICTFOR Outgoing Treasurer, Lord McNally & Dame Caroline Dinenage MP)
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP then handed over the chairing of the meeting to the Rt Hon Lord McNally, who moved a vote to re-elect Dame Caroline Dinenage MP as the Group’s Co-Chair and Registered Contact, and to elect Samantha Niblett MP as the Group’s new Co-Chair. The parliamentarian attendees unanimously approved this motion. Lord McNally also noted his enjoyment of the Group over his time as Treasurer and thanked those involved before moving to elect Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG as the Group’s new Treasurer, and re-electing Lord Clement-Jones CBE as the Group’s fourth Officer. Parliamentarian attendees unanimously approved this motion.
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP then moved a vote to re-elect all those who had expressed interest in joining the Group as members. The parliamentarian attendees unanimously approved this motion.
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP then put on record the gratitude of the whole Group for Lord McNally’s dedicated years as Treasurer, which saw the Group’s finances go from strength to strength. Newly elected Treasurer, Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG seconded this from her previous time as Co-Chair of the Group alongside Darren Jones MP and particularly commended Lord McNally for seeing the group through a difficult time financially during the pandemic.
  1. Update on finances and membership (Secretariat)
  • The Group’s Secretariat then ran members through the financial model of PICTFOR before giving an update on the finances to date, including membership and sponsorship which should hit 97% of the target this year. The Secretariat also discussed the disruption caused by the General Election and how this has impacted the Group’s finances owing to the break of activity for the Pre-Election Period, but reassured members that the Group has sufficient reserves to cover this shortfall.
  • The Secretariat then revisited the plans agreed upon at the March 2024 AGM to increase the membership fees for industry members in 2025 as well as the fees for event sponsorship to deal with inflationary pressures and offset the higher expenditure faced in the past several years.
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP thanked the Secretariat for the update and asked the assembled parliamentarians whether they had any questions on the finances as well as encouraging them to share the group with businesses they meet.
  • Baroness Neville-Rolfe suggested that a brochure be created detailing the benefits of membership for potential industry members. The Secretariat noted this has already been created and will be shared with parliamentary members.
  1. Discussion on the role of Industry Chair (Secretariat)
  • The Secretariat then detailed the role of the Industry Chair, providing context for the new parliamentary members of the Group. The parliamentary attendees agreed that such a role has merit, and agreed that with the change in government and with an unprecedented volume of new MPs, the Group should consider appointing a new Industry Chair.
  • Following the decision that the position of Industry Chair would be kept, a number of parliamentarians made suggestions for who could be Industry Chair and the parliamentarians asked the Secretariat to outline a shortlist of potential appointees, taking feed-in and suggestions from the Group’s parliamentary members on who is best placed to take this on, and with the Group’s members to subsequently elect the Industry Chair if necessary.
  • Daniel Aldridge MP suggested the Group consider appointing a Civic Society Chair as well as an Industry Chair, highlighting that strong civic voices already play a strong role in PICTFOR.
  • Those present agreed that this proposal had merit and asked the Secretariat to explore a shortlist of potential appointees, with feed in from the Group’s parliamentary members.
  1. Upcoming events programme for 2025 (Secretariat)
  • The Secretariat gave those present an overview of the Group’s plans for the year ahead, covering topics from AI to cybersecurity and the various pieces of technology legislation currently making their way through Parliament. The Secretariat encouraged parliamentary members to contribute speaker and theme suggestions for upcoming events.
  • Daniel Aldridge MP raised that there are a number of changes to devolution being implemented in the near future and it could be useful to incorporate this into discussions.
  • Lord Russell of Liverpool suggested we incorporate a question on what international best practice looks like, across all proposed events.
  • Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG suggested the Group try and get some private sector best practice examples for the event on AI, noting that she was aware of how far advanced the private sector was from her time in the Cabinet Office.
  • On the cyber security event, Lord Russell of Liverpool highlighted that he has monitored six elections through the Council of Europe and that there are several people in both Houses who have direct experience monitoring elections, which could provide an interesting perspective.
  • Baroness Neville-Rolfe noted that there is also a great deal of government expertise in this area, and suggested pushing it up in the proposed order of events given the importance of the topic. The suggested changes were then agreed upon by all present.
  1. AOB (PICTFOR Co-Chair Dame Caroline Dinenage MP)
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP, upon no further business being raised, thanked those present before closing the meeting.

This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this document are those of the group.

The following parliamentarians were confirmed members of PICTFOR:

  • Alex Sobel MP
  • Alison Griffiths MP
  • Andrew Pakes MP
  • Anna McMorrin MP
  • Baroness Bakewell
  • Baroness Blower
  • Baroness Finlay
  • Baroness Hamwee
  • Baroness Harding of Winscombe
  • Baroness Hooper
  • Baroness Neville Rolfe DBE CMG
  • Baroness Nicholson
  • Baroness Rona Fairhead
  • Baroness Thornton
  • Baroness Uddin
  • Baroness Vere of Norbiton
  • Baroness Watkins of Tavistock
  • Bill Esterson MP
  • Bob Blackman MP
  • Chi Onwurah MP
  • Claire Hughes MP
  • Dame Caroline Dinenage MP
  • Dan Aldridge MP
  • Gordon McKee MP
  • Johanna Baxter MP
  • John Lamont MP
  • John Whittingdale MP
  • Julia Buckley MP
  • Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
  • Lord Browne of Ladyton
  • Lord Clement Jones CBE
  • Lord Craig of Radley
  • Lord Cromwell
  • Lord Goddard of Stockport
  • Lord Harris of Haringey
  • Lord Haskel
  • Lord Jamieson
  • Lord Knight of Weymouth
  • Lord Lancaster
  • Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate OBE
  • Lord McNally
  • Lord Mendoza
  • Lord Moynihan
  • Lord Patel KT
  • Lord Russell of Liverpool
  • Lord Teverson
  • Lord Truscott
  • Lord Wei of Shoreditch
  • Max Wilkinson MP
  • Sir Roger Gale MP
  • Steff Aquarone MP
  • Steve Race MP
  • Taiwo Owatemi MP
  • Tan Dhesi MP

This is not an official publication of the House of Commons or the House of Lords. It has not been approved by either House or its committees. All-Party Parliamentary Groups are informal groups of Members of both Houses with a common interest in particular issues. The views expressed in this document are those of the group.

 

 

If you would like further information on this topic or about PICTFOR’s programme of events, please get in touch!

Get In Touch keyboard_arrow_right
keyboard_arrow_up Back to the Top