Westminster Forum Projects

About Arqiva

Arqiva is a leading communications and media services company. We build and operate ecosystems and infrastructure to deliver data and content effectively, securely, and sustainably at scale.

We operate at the forefront of the UK broadcast industry, enabling our customers to reach audiences across technologies and platforms. We deliver a range of products and services for the distribution and management of content at-scale, both in the UK and internationally. We are also the UK’s provider of digital terrestrial television and radio broadcasting, enabling universal access to broadcast services.

Arqiva also delivers the smart energy metering network in the North of England and Scotland and is the UK’s only large-scale provider of smart water metering. Through our work, energy and water grids are getting smarter, meaning more control and less wastage.

Arqiva’s history can be traced back to 1922 when it broadcast the world’s first national radio service. In 1936 it carried the BBC’s first television broadcast. In 1978 it enabled Europe’s first satellite TV test. In the 2000s, it launched the UK’s national DAB radio and digital terrestrial television networks. More recently, Arqiva has played a pioneering role in the roll-out of the national smart energy and water metering networks.

Our teams are behind the scenes, delivering millions of vital connections every day for our customers – the major UK and international broadcasters, independent radio groups, as well as major utility companies.

Arqiva is owned by a consortium of infrastructure investors and has its headquarters in Hampshire, with UK offices in London, Buckinghamshire and Yorkshire and operational centres in the West Midlands and Scotland.

British Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC’s mission has remained the same for 100 years; to enrich people’s lives with great programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.

The BBC is the most-used brand in the UK for media. We are one of the most-used UK public services, reaching 9 in 10 UK adults and nearly 8 in 10 young adults on average per week. BBC News is the most trusted news brand in the UK and in the US, and we are the most trusted international news provider globally.

The Corporation is funded through a television licence fee and 95% of our controllable spend is focussed on content and delivery with just 5% spent on running the organisation. As the largest investor in original UK content, the BBC contributes around £5bn to the UK economy each year, delivering £2.63 of direct economic impact for every £1 spent, with 50% of that economic impact outside of London.

The current Royal Charter, which started on 1st January 2017 sets out five public purposes for the BBC. They are:

• To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them.
• To support learning for people of all ages.
• To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.
• To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom.
• To reflect the United Kingdom, it’s culture and values to the world.

BT Group is one of the world’s leading communications services companies. We’re based in the UK but we serve customers in around 180 countries. We develop and sell communications propositions and services, and build and operate the networks that are essential to modern lives, businesses and communities. We operate as a single business, made up of organisational units. There are customer-facing units that sell propositions and services and corporate units that support the whole group.

BT Business

Our three brands – BT, EE and Plusnet – connect UK consumers to information, entertainment, friends and family, at home and on the move. Between them, they provide the whole of the UK with connectivity. We buy access to fixed-line and broadband infrastructure from Openreach, and we use EE’s mobile network to provide mobile phone services. We connect more than 1m business customers and public sector organisations with our extensive portfolio of communications and IT solutions. We also provide network products and services to communications providers operating in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Openreach

Openreach builds, and sells access to, the network that connects the UK’s homes and businesses. Openreach also provides wholesale ‘last mile’ fixed access from homes and businesses to exchanges, and installs and maintains the fibre and copper communications networks.

Global

We are a leading business connectivity, communications and IT services provider to major multinational corporations in around 180 countries. We own an extensive global voice and data network providing managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services, enabling customers’ digital transformations. We partner in countries worldwide for access to voice and data infrastructure and we buy enterprise technologies and equipment for our customers from the world’s leading technology providers.

The DMA is Europe’s largest community of data-driven marketers. Guided by our customer-first principles enshrined in the DMA Code, the DMA champions a rich fusion of data, technology, insight, creativity and diverse talent. With a mission to be the UK’s most customer-focused business community, we set, teach and promote standards to build trust and deliver marketing effectiveness for the UK’s data and marketing community.

We deliver this mission through a fully integrated, classroom-to-boardroom approach that supports you, your team and your business.

The DMA delivers advocacy, legal and compliance support, best practice guidance, research, insight and a packed events calendar. Our talent division creates pathways to attract new and diverse talent into the industry and our world-class training institute is focused on professionalising the industry through marketing skills training delivered at corporate and individual level. www.dma.org.uk

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 20 offices across the UK with approximately 17,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £2.72 billion in the year ended 30 September 2022.

KPMG is a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. It operates in 143 countries and territories with more than 265,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

Within KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice we focus on the most pressing issues faced by our sector clients. Companies are facing a wide variety of challenges from economic uncertainty and talent shortages to supply chain disruption, not to mention wider geopolitical pressures and the ongoing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift towards online content consumption during the pandemic altered the business model for many companies. Even purely digital companies must keep up with rapidly evolving customer expectations. Technological disruption and increased competition are also forcing TMT companies to regularly finetune their strategies. This is in addition to a renewed focus on compliance with data protection policies. Keeping up with the change is a challenge for many but at the same time, firms have new growth opportunities.

According to KPMG’s latest Global Tech Survey, sixty-seven percent of tech executives who were surveyed expect to embrace emerging technology platforms in the next two years. The launch of 5G networks and accompanying gigabit wireless speeds and ultra-low latency will enable further redefinition of the boundaries between linear, online and live entertainment. Cloud gaming and e-sports, IOT-enabled devices, AR/VR applications, HD mobile video are just some of the emerging services and use cases that compete for consumers’ attention and share of wallet. Media executives are striving to develop sustainable business models balancing short term financial goals with long term ambitions. There are also new opportunities for media companies as they explore new platforms such as the Metaverse and Web3.

In addition to these emerging technologies, we now also have generative AI in the mix which has really taken off in the last year. The latest KPMG 2023 CEO Outlook survey revealed that business leaders are continuing to invest heavily in generative AI in search of a competitive edge for the future, listing the technology as a top investment priority in the medium term. Not only are tech companies focused on developing this technology and how it can be used to help their clients and consumers, but companies across most sectors are looking at how this technology will impact the future of their businesses. For example, we’ve seen media companies looking at generative AI’s role in the newsroom. Businesses should be looking at how they can benefit from using generative AI whilst carefully considering and managing the risks these developing technologies present.

KPMG has a 360-degree understanding of these hot issues and the specific threats faced by each of the media segments – digital platforms, television and radio broadcasting, advertising, music, film and news publishing. Our collaborative approach across key international hubs such as London, Silicon Valley, New York, Shanghai and Tel Aviv brings to our clients a powerful lens and repository of insights to help tackle the strategic and operational challenges ahead.

About Arqiva

Arqiva is a leading communications and media services company. We build and operate ecosystems and infrastructure to deliver data and content effectively, securely, and sustainably at scale.

We operate at the forefront of the UK broadcast industry, enabling our customers to reach audiences across technologies and platforms. We deliver a range of products and services for the distribution and management of content at-scale, both in the UK and internationally. We are also the UK’s provider of digital terrestrial television and radio broadcasting, enabling universal access to broadcast services.

Arqiva also delivers the smart energy metering network in the North of England and Scotland and is the UK’s only large-scale provider of smart water metering. Through our work, energy and water grids are getting smarter, meaning more control and less wastage.

Arqiva’s history can be traced back to 1922 when it broadcast the world’s first national radio service. In 1936 it carried the BBC’s first television broadcast. In 1978 it enabled Europe’s first satellite TV test. In the 2000s, it launched the UK’s national DAB radio and digital terrestrial television networks. More recently, Arqiva has played a pioneering role in the roll-out of the national smart energy and water metering networks.

Our teams are behind the scenes, delivering millions of vital connections every day for our customers – the major UK and international broadcasters, independent radio groups, as well as major utility companies.

Arqiva is owned by a consortium of infrastructure investors and has its headquarters in Hampshire, with UK offices in London, Buckinghamshire and Yorkshire and operational centres in the West Midlands and Scotland.

British Broadcasting Corporation

The BBC’s mission has remained the same for 100 years; to enrich people’s lives with great programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.

The BBC is the most-used brand in the UK for media. We are one of the most-used UK public services, reaching 9 in 10 UK adults and nearly 8 in 10 young adults on average per week. BBC News is the most trusted news brand in the UK and in the US, and we are the most trusted international news provider globally.

The Corporation is funded through a television licence fee and 95% of our controllable spend is focussed on content and delivery with just 5% spent on running the organisation. As the largest investor in original UK content, the BBC contributes around £5bn to the UK economy each year, delivering £2.63 of direct economic impact for every £1 spent, with 50% of that economic impact outside of London.

The current Royal Charter, which started on 1st January 2017 sets out five public purposes for the BBC. They are:

• To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them.
• To support learning for people of all ages.
• To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.
• To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom.
• To reflect the United Kingdom, it’s culture and values to the world.

BT Group is one of the world’s leading communications services companies. We’re based in the UK but we serve customers in around 180 countries. We develop and sell communications propositions and services, and build and operate the networks that are essential to modern lives, businesses and communities. We operate as a single business, made up of organisational units. There are customer-facing units that sell propositions and services and corporate units that support the whole group.

BT Business

Our three brands – BT, EE and Plusnet – connect UK consumers to information, entertainment, friends and family, at home and on the move. Between them, they provide the whole of the UK with connectivity. We buy access to fixed-line and broadband infrastructure from Openreach, and we use EE’s mobile network to provide mobile phone services. We connect more than 1m business customers and public sector organisations with our extensive portfolio of communications and IT solutions. We also provide network products and services to communications providers operating in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Openreach

Openreach builds, and sells access to, the network that connects the UK’s homes and businesses. Openreach also provides wholesale ‘last mile’ fixed access from homes and businesses to exchanges, and installs and maintains the fibre and copper communications networks.

Global

We are a leading business connectivity, communications and IT services provider to major multinational corporations in around 180 countries. We own an extensive global voice and data network providing managed services, security and network and IT infrastructure services, enabling customers’ digital transformations. We partner in countries worldwide for access to voice and data infrastructure and we buy enterprise technologies and equipment for our customers from the world’s leading technology providers.

The DMA is Europe’s largest community of data-driven marketers. Guided by our customer-first principles enshrined in the DMA Code, the DMA champions a rich fusion of data, technology, insight, creativity and diverse talent. With a mission to be the UK’s most customer-focused business community, we set, teach and promote standards to build trust and deliver marketing effectiveness for the UK’s data and marketing community.

We deliver this mission through a fully integrated, classroom-to-boardroom approach that supports you, your team and your business.

The DMA delivers advocacy, legal and compliance support, best practice guidance, research, insight and a packed events calendar. Our talent division creates pathways to attract new and diverse talent into the industry and our world-class training institute is focused on professionalising the industry through marketing skills training delivered at corporate and individual level. www.dma.org.uk

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 20 offices across the UK with approximately 17,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £2.72 billion in the year ended 30 September 2022.

KPMG is a global organisation of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Legal, Tax and Advisory services. It operates in 143 countries and territories with more than 265,000 partners and employees working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

Within KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice we focus on the most pressing issues faced by our sector clients. Companies are facing a wide variety of challenges from economic uncertainty and talent shortages to supply chain disruption, not to mention wider geopolitical pressures and the ongoing impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. The shift towards online content consumption during the pandemic altered the business model for many companies. Even purely digital companies must keep up with rapidly evolving customer expectations. Technological disruption and increased competition are also forcing TMT companies to regularly finetune their strategies. This is in addition to a renewed focus on compliance with data protection policies. Keeping up with the change is a challenge for many but at the same time, firms have new growth opportunities.

According to KPMG’s latest Global Tech Survey, sixty-seven percent of tech executives who were surveyed expect to embrace emerging technology platforms in the next two years. The launch of 5G networks and accompanying gigabit wireless speeds and ultra-low latency will enable further redefinition of the boundaries between linear, online and live entertainment. Cloud gaming and e-sports, IOT-enabled devices, AR/VR applications, HD mobile video are just some of the emerging services and use cases that compete for consumers’ attention and share of wallet. Media executives are striving to develop sustainable business models balancing short term financial goals with long term ambitions. There are also new opportunities for media companies as they explore new platforms such as the Metaverse and Web3.

In addition to these emerging technologies, we now also have generative AI in the mix which has really taken off in the last year. The latest KPMG 2023 CEO Outlook survey revealed that business leaders are continuing to invest heavily in generative AI in search of a competitive edge for the future, listing the technology as a top investment priority in the medium term. Not only are tech companies focused on developing this technology and how it can be used to help their clients and consumers, but companies across most sectors are looking at how this technology will impact the future of their businesses. For example, we’ve seen media companies looking at generative AI’s role in the newsroom. Businesses should be looking at how they can benefit from using generative AI whilst carefully considering and managing the risks these developing technologies present.

KPMG has a 360-degree understanding of these hot issues and the specific threats faced by each of the media segments – digital platforms, television and radio broadcasting, advertising, music, film and news publishing. Our collaborative approach across key international hubs such as London, Silicon Valley, New York, Shanghai and Tel Aviv brings to our clients a powerful lens and repository of insights to help tackle the strategic and operational challenges ahead.

We are Boehringer Ingelheim - a different kind of partner

In 1885, in the southern German town of Ingelheim, Albert Boehringer started a small bio-technology company founded on innovation and social responsibility. More than 135 years later, Boehringer Ingelheim is a global pharmaceutical company, making medicines for people and animals. Today’s world is vastly different from Albert’s, but our founding purpose remain the same. We remain driven by a desire to transform lives for generations.

Boehringer Ingelheim remains family-owned, which is unusual and valuable in the broader landscape of pharmaceuticals. We are not beholden to the stock market like others, instead we answer to society. We plan in generations, not quarters, meaning we can take long term decisions that may not drive profit overnight but will ultimately benefit people.

Nowadays, the way we deliver healthcare improvements is inherently more sophisticated than Albert could have imagined. When we look at the specific challenges of improving health here in the UK, they are complex. However, we are clear about how our unique strengths can deliver value, focusing on three core areas: patient-centric data and digital technologies, sustainable healthcare and innovation with empathy.

When it comes to innovation and drug development, we take on the biggest challenges in medicine, focussing on unmet need. We are at the forefront of advancing research through open-source innovation and sharing expertise as well as molecules for research with the wider Life Sciences community. Our clinical trials include input from patients at all stage to ensure their needs are being met as we develop solutions.

We are committed to sustainable healthcare, planning for the long term alongside the NHS, helping it meet objectives outlined in The Long Term Plan.¹ We run numerous collaborative working projects, piloting new models of care aiming to improve patient outcomes as well as helping the NHS.

We are determined to help tackle the challenge of climate change. In 2021 we switched to 100% renewable energy, our green fleet policy has reduced vehicle emissions by almost 20% within the last three years and we expect to be carbon neutral in operations by 2030. We are reducing the water footprint at our manufacturing sites and protecting clean water in the communities in which we operate. Additionally, we utilise aspects of circularity to reduce overall operational waste to landfill, as well as applying eco-design and green chemistry concepts to all new products. Our ambition is to be net zero by 2045.

We are actively engaged in improving UK air quality, specifically around hospitals and community health centres. In 2022 we worked with Newcastle Hospitals and Global Action Plan to develop a Clean Air Framework supporting every ICS to become a ‘Clean Air Champion’.

Now more than ever, data and digital technology is playing a critical role in helping to accelerate innovation. Vital to the success of this transformation is ensuring patients and health and care professionals are involved and supported. Together with the AHSN Network and the University of Plymouth, we have published: How to involve and engage patients in digital health tech innovation – An Evidence Based Guide which provides practical steps on the principles of best patient and public engagement. This will also be made available as CPD via the ORCHA Digital Health Academy, the UK’s first online educational platform for health and care professionals on digital health.

Today we employ over 700 people around the UK committed to transforming lives for generations. As we look to the future, we can’t pretend it’s going to be easy. But just like Albert all those years ago, we believe that challenge is the seed of innovation, from which progress will flourish.

For further information, please visit www.boehringer-ingelheim.co.uk

Burges Salmon is the market-leading independent UK law firm that provides the best proposition for its people and its clients.

We are an independent UK law firm with a unique model. We offer clients the best combination of the highest quality of advice and service at a fair price. Our mantra is that exceptional client service underpins everything we do.

Our clients instruct us because we offer a different experience: unrivalled expertise, excellent service and exceptional value. Those clients range from large organisations, entrepreneurial businesses and public sector bodies to private individuals and families. We are trusted to help with everything from everyday legal needs to business critical issues and all points in between. Working collaboratively, in partnership with clients, Burges Salmon forms its thinking around their needs to ensure delivery of the right solutions when it matters.

We understand the legal and commercial challenges inherent in any project and are renowned for our creative approach to problem solving. We combine market-leading experience and legal expertise to help clients overcome the challenges of their sectors, particularly in the delivery of energy, environment and transport infrastructure projects in complex regulatory environments.

Drawing on a pool of expertise from across the firm, our collaborative approach allows us to build the right team for each client. Our team of specialist lawyers is one of the largest and most diverse in the UK, with lawyers qualified to work in all three legal jurisdictions - England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. We provide a seamless service throughout all stages of the project life cycle – from financing, planning and real estate through to construction and operation.

We also continue to develop our people-orientated agenda providing an excellent place to work, with excellent training and development for our staff. We support that with our strong Responsible Business and Diversity & Inclusion agendas which are at the heart of the firm.

“The team are client-focused, friendly and extremely practical, they go well beyond reasonable expectations." Chambers UK 2021

Sector expertise

Energy

We are known for ground-breaking work in the energy sector and understand the opportunities, technologies and challenges that the sector presents.

The energy sector moves quickly. Our clients need advisers who understand not only where the sector is today, but also where it will be tomorrow. Our award-winning energy lawyers innovate and deliver creative solutions for all forms of ground-breaking clean energy infrastructure projects. With a deep understanding of the UK regulatory environment we help our clients futureproof projects and transactions. Our reputation is built upon first-of-a-kind projects and deals, and we provide expert advice throughout the project/plant development and life cycle.

Contact:
Ross Fairley, Partner
T: +44 (0) 117 902 6351
E: ross.fairley@burges-salmon.com

Environment

Our Environment team is nationally recognised, operating across natural resources, the built environment and, increasingly, in the environmental regulation of products. This is a challenging area as the UK adapts its environmental regulation post-Brexit and we are on top of those changes.

We work with the full spectrum of clients, from government and regulators to private sector funders, developers and infrastructure service providers. We are well known for our expertise across utilities, water, waste management, urban regeneration, social infrastructure and producer responsibility both for contentious and non-contentious work.

We combine specialist expertise in energy efficiency, carbon law, water law, environmental risk management and compliance with award-winning real estate, projects, corporate and construction procurement teams. This has made us the firm of choice for complex regulatory advice, contentious regulatory work and ground-breaking projects across the fast-changing natural resources and built environment sectors.

Contact:
Michael Barlow, Partner
T: +44 (0) 117 902 7708
E: michael.barlow@burges-salmon.com

Transport

With decades of experience in the sector, we offer in-depth legal expertise across all modes of transport and transport infrastructure.

The transport sector remains vital to the country's economic health and there are ambitious plans in place that will continue to enhance the UK's passenger and freight systems in the years ahead. Our industry-leading transport lawyers have deep insight into the sector and unparalleled expertise in transport law. Our advice covers all aspects of transport law from the development of cutting-edge autonomous vehicles to more traditional transport infrastructure, road and rail, airports and ports.

Contact:
Brioney Thomas, Partner
T: +44 (0) 117 902 6677
E: brioney.thomas@burges-salmon.com

OCR (Oxford Cambridge and RSA Examinations) is a leading UK awarding organization and is part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, which is in turn a department of the University of Cambridge. We are a large, global organization that offers world-leading academic research, learning and assessment, backed by the first-class teaching and research departments of the University of Cambridge.

We are committed to ensuring that all our assessments are fair, have sound ethical underpinning, and operate to the highest technical standards. Our organization is not for profit.

We provide GCSEs, A Levels and vocational qualifications to schools, colleges and many other types of institutions. OCR believes in a broad and balanced curriculum providing choices that can meet the needs of different learners and which support different approaches to teaching and learning. We provide GCSEs and A Levels in over 40 subjects and offer over 450 vocational qualifications, including Cambridge Nationals and Cambridge Technicals.

We develop our qualifications in close consultation with teachers, industry leaders and government to ensure they are relevant for today’s students and meet requirements set by the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual).

Our heritage is long established and provides us with expertise across the full range of academic and vocational qualifications. Since becoming OCR in 1998, our experience, knowledge and skills have enabled us to build a reputation for reliably high standards.

We are proud to be part of the University of Cambridge and we are at the forefront of education. We support teachers, schools and Governments around the world.

We actively seek out high quality innovators in education and work with them in partnership to develop qualifications/assessments that supports their activity.