All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPGs) are informal, cross-party interest groups. APPGs do not have any official status within Parliament, nor are they given any power or funding by it. They are run by and for Members of the Commons and Lords, mainly as a place for backbenchers to meet and discuss their various areas of interest. Many groups involve external individuals and organisations in their group’s administration and activities.
MPs are now restricted to being officer of only a few groups
There are a huge number of APPGs which cover many and diverse topics, covering everything from Archaeology, to Multiple Sclerosis, to Women and Enterprise. Some APPGs focus on a particular country, whilst others look at particular issues such as Water and Sanitation in the Third World.
I am a member of a number of different APPGs, including:
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Domestic Violence and Abuse
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Western Gateway
I have also previously been a member of the following APPGs:
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Breast Cancer
- All-Party Parliamentary Disability Group
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Global Education for All
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Huntington’s Disease
- APPG for Justice for Equitable Life Policyholders
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Learning Disability
- All-Party Parliamentary Group for Legal and Constitutional Affairs
- Libraries All-Party Parliamentary Group
- Mental Health All-Party Parliamentary Group
- Mobile Homes All-Party Parliamentary Group
- All-Party Parliamentary Opera Group
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Park Homes
- St Helena APPG
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Legal Aid
- All-Party Parliamentary Group on Archives and History
- All-Party Parliamentary Poland Group
Being a member of these groups enables me to contribute to topical discussions relating to these interest areas and learn more about the work and experiences of external organisations and service-users.
I am also an Officer of a number of APPGs, which involves greater responsibility in the running of the group and its direction.
Previously, I was the Vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Speech and Language Difficulties. This group’s purpose is to raise awareness that communication is a crucial life skill and that the ability to communicate is a basic human right; to increase awareness about communication disability and the impact this has on people’s lives; to highlight the importance of early identification and intervention; and to press for increased provision of speech and language therapy.
From 2010 to 2012 I was the Chair of the Gurkha Welfare Group, which aims to provide a forum to bring together supporters of and campaigners for the welfare of Gurkhas and Gurkha veterans. I have now stepped down from the Chair but continue to work with my local Gurkha community.
On health, I was from 2010 to 2012 the Joint-chair of the All Party Parliamentary Kidney Group. This group has been formed with the aim to improve understanding in Parliament of kidney disease and transplant medicine and promote improvements in the health and care services that are available to improve the health of people with renal failure.
Finally, I have previously been the Vice Chair for All Party Parliamentary Group on Cannabis and Children, which has the purpose of informing members of both Houses of Parliament and, using sound scientific and medical evidence, to raise awareness and stimulate debate about the impact of cannabis on children and young people. The Group is particularly concerned about the effects that modern forms of skunk, which are much more potent than the cannabis of 30 years ago, have on the brain development of young people, and psychosis. The Group has met to hear of the experiences of ex-users of cannabis to learn about the challenges that are faced to get clean again after a long addiction.