Business meetings and events organisations will only be viable for another 7.5 months, according to the latest industry research by the Meetings Industry Association (mia).

The All Party Parliamentary Group for Events (APPG) today held its first formal Evidence Session for the current Parliament.

The OIOV Taskforce has met twice this year already – and in line with the national mood the focus has been trying to ensure that when the current lockdowns operating across the UK are lifted, we are ready to push for clear start dates and the support required to re-build the shattered UK events industry.

A survey of more than a thousand hospitality and tourism businesses by the Cut Tourism VAT (CTV) Campaign, UKHospitality, the Tourism Alliance and the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions demonstrates the importance of the decision by Chancellor Rishi Sunak to apply a reduced rate of VAT at 5% in protecting employment and the survival of those businesses. Given that the survey shows that the vast majority of the savings were used to retain staff, pay suppliers or passed on to customers, the hospitality and tourism sector believes it is vital that the reduction is extended well beyond March 2021 due to the incremental, long term and devastating impact of COVID-19.

The Event Supplier and Services Association (ESSA) has announced that it is making a Freedom of Information (FOI) request of the government.

The request is part of an effort by ESSA to determine the reasoning behind recent government decisions, not limited to the postponement of the so-called "go date" for exhibitions, October 1 2020, being abandoned. In total, ESSA is requesting information across 16 distinct areas.