All-party Parliamentary Groups
All-party Parliamentary Groups (APGs) are informal groups of members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords from all parties that meet to discuss and research areas of common interest. Although APGs have to be registered with and approved by the Parliamentary Standards Commission, there is no limit on how many can exist or what issues they can consider. There are currently well over 200 APGS which consider a huge range of issues from defence and social mobility to body image and video games. Like select committees, an APG is an excellent forum for presenting your research to MPs and members of the House of Lords who are genuinely interested in a particular issue. APGs have no fixed reporting timeframes, and therefore members are able to consider issues at length and in great detail. APGs very often work with special interest groups, academics, or other experts, and may have permanent associations with such groups. However, they are much more informal than select committees, and have none of their powers to summon witnesses or make recommendations.
How to get in touch
A register of all APGs can be found on Parliament’s website here, and many have their own websites, where you can find contact details and information about upcoming meetings and enquiries. As with contacting a select committee, your first step will probably be to provide a briefing. This could either be in response to a specific call for submissions or a current inquiry, or you could suggest a topic for future consideration. As always, keep it short.
