PRCA welcomes lobbying announcement
The PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association) has today welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will not speed up regulation of the lobbying industry.
The body is already working with the CIPR (Chartered Institute of Public Relations) and APPC (Association of Professional Political Consultants) on a voluntary register designed to provide transparency and ensure practitioners have a standardised code of conduct.
Francis Ingham, PRCA chief executive, said: “Every time ministers are found to have behaved improperly the politicians' reaction is to put up a smokescreen by blaming lobbyists. In practice the individuals involved are almost never lobbyists as would be recognised by members of the public affairs industry. As an industry we need to help people understand what we do as political consultants, demystify the profession and shake off its cloak and dagger image.
“Any statutory register of lobbyists must meet two criteria if it is to work. It must cover all lobbyists including company directors, lawyers, charities and anyone else who engages directly with MPs and ministers. Secondly it must not be bureaucratic. The more onerous and complex the system is, the more it will discriminate against those with small budgets.
“The ability to raise issues with our elected representatives underpins how our democracy works. Government works best when it listens to charities, to business and to individuals and balances their needs and wants. It is at its worst when it fails to take responsibility for the failings of a few politicians and shifts the blame onto an industry that helps build better laws.”