New Chairman of County APPG Elected

Peter Aldous MP

Mr Aldous was elected to Parliament in 2010 and prior to then, held the positions of both a Waveney District Councillor and Suffolk County Councillor, where he was Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group.

The County All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) met on 15th September to be reconstituted for the remainder of this Parliamentary term, where first item on the agenda was the election of Peter Aldous as the new Chairman.

The County APPG, whose secretariat is provided by the County Councils Network (CCN), has a broad remit. Its role is to consider the issues and challenges faced by county areas and communities. It promotes the current and future contribution of county areas to the overall national economy and well-being, investigating the barriers and constraints that prevent the full potential of county areas from being achieved, and seeks to raise awareness of these matters in Parliament.

Ahead of the meeting and reflecting on his new position and aspirations for the future of CCN, Mr Aldous said:

“This is a fantastic honour and I am delighted to succeed Henry Smith MP as Chairman of the APPG. I am looking forward to chairing this influential APPG and building upon the good work that has been delivered to-date.”

“One of my main priorities will be to seek an increase in the number of County MPs sitting on the APPG. It is important that as a group we can represent the needs and concerns of our residents in order to influence Government policy.”

“Following on from the work of my predecessor, I will be continuing the campaign for counties to be given the same level of consideration as the big cities when it comes to devolution, economic growth, health and wellbeing issues and ensuring the best use of public money to improve local services.”

The APPG will launch its next inquiry in early 2016.