As outlined in the Coalition agreement, the government has now published its consultation paper on the introduction of a statutory register of lobbyists. Many of the questions posed, such as who should be required to register, what information needs to be provided and how often the register is updated are probably easier to consider rather than the primary question of the definition of 'lobbying' and 'lobbyists'. We all have just three months to submit our views. Questions about how to classify the role of lobbyists in-house, or for those who work for charities, trade unions or NGOs are familiar to anyone who has followed the growth of the public affairs industry in recent years. However, one certainty is that the government expects the cost of this statutory scheme to be borne by those who register. Unlike the current voluntary UKPAC scheme which is meant to apply to Scotland and Wales, it is clear from this consultation document that discussions have yet to be held with elected members of the Scottish parliament or the Welsh assembly over the remit of the statutory register. Past experience, certainly in Scotland, is that the Parliament in Edinburgh would seek its own rules and regulations. This new consultation process shines another light on the lobbying industry, which has a poor image thanks to recent media exposes of firms that guarantee all manner of promises including access to ministers. Lord Justice Leveson is currently providing a lid-lifting operation on the media, which could probably have done without all the attention. Quite what this consultation and the ensuing debates will produce on the lobbying industry is a moot point.
As a non-scientist, yet working with science, I still find astonishing some of the developments I have promoted, or come across in daily life. Today, on the Tube in London I saw a charity advertisement suggesting a Christmas gift with a difference - it seems that in Tanzania tuberculosis is a problem and conventional tests are both expensive and time-consuming. The solution appears to be specially trained rats that can be used to sniff out the presence of TB in patients. The cost of providing such a rat to an African hospital is only £15, and provides greater benefits than the usual socks or gloves. Go to www.goodgifts.org if you do not believe me. Science can be jaw-dropping!
Years ago, I wrote an article about a television development that contained the the sentence - 'the first time a rat has come to the aid of a sinking ship'. I am pleased that I am now able to give the phrase another outing!
As a non-scientist, yet working with science, I still find astonishing some of the developments I have promoted, or come across in daily life. Today, on the Tube in London I saw a charity advertisement suggesting a Christmas gift with a difference - it seems that in Tanzania tuberculosis is a problem and conventional tests are both expensive and time-consuming. The solution appears to be specially trained rats that can be used to sniff out the presence of TB in patients. The cost of providing such a rat to an African hospital is only £15, and provides greater benefits than the usual socks or gloves. Go to www.goodgifts.org if you do not believe me. Science can be jaw-dropping!
Years ago, I wrote an article about a television development that contained the the sentence - 'the first time a rat has come to the aid of a sinking ship'. I am pleased that I am now able to give the phrase another outing!
One of the issues I have been writing about recently is the effect that devolution has brought to the UK in terms of public policy creation. There are now a number of examples of policies put forward in the devolved areas and then copied by politicians elsewhere. It is a wonderful process for governments because they get the benefit of monitoring implementation of new laws in defined areas, learning lessons and then putting forward their own version of legislation. Until now, keeping fully abreast of the political scene in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales has been a task for public affairs people based in London. This week I had Freesat installed and am now able to know what is being said and done in devolved countries through my ability to watch channels such as BBC Alba in Scotland and S4C in Wales.
Eorpa, a Gaelic current affairs programme from Scotland was this week looking at issues created by S4C's funding in Wales being allocated to the BBC. It was a new experience to see Aled Eirug, a friend and former BBC executive talking in Welsh, with someone providing a voice-over in Gaelic and with an English subtitle. Lets hope that greater access to TV programming from all parts of the UK might serve to benefit the public affairs community in creating greater awareness of what policy areas are up for discussion.
Students of modern European history will know that in 1940 - just before the Battle of Britain - there was a proposal that the UK and France should merge into one state. So, today's reports in the media that 'France is drawing up plans to create a breakaway organisation of eurozone countries with its own treaty, parliament and headquarters - a move that could significantly undermine the existing European Union' causes some wry smiles. The 'union within a union' is foreseen as an effective merger between France and Germany. The current financial turmoil is having a real effect on companies' plans for the future and that includes plans for their marketing and PR efforts. Barroso warns that a eurozone crash would wipe off £10 trillion from the European economy. Yet, should the 'union within a union' take place, will Brussels return to the quiet backwater that it used to be? Will lobbyists now be brushing up on their French and German? Certainly, no-one would deny that these are interesting, challenging and deeply worrying times. PS.Interesting to read that the European Court of Auditors has now refused to sign off EU spending for the 17th year.
Dont ask me why, but London's central shopping area was full of Italians today. Recently, the UK media has focussed on Greece in its coverage of the euro crisis, but should the BBC and its broadcast rivals now be booking airline seats for Rome? Working in Brussels at the launch of the euro, I remember all too well the gossip there which alleged that Italy had added the value of its black economy to the official staistics in order to join the euro community. Hearing so much Italian this afternoon made me think of the euro crisis not so much in term of markets, but in the international nature of companies. Most UK consumers will know of EDF and O2, but few will realise that one is a French company and the other, owned by Spain's Telefonica. If the economic woes continue, I can well imagine the demands for more lobbying to come from boardrooms in Frankfurt or Madrid. How that might be received in other markets, such as the United Kingdom, is an interesting question. What is sure is that the PR industry faces a challenging time.
Last night's summit in Brussels over the debt crisis in Euroland has brought some certainty to the markets. Whilst we await the details, what is clear is the creation of a 'two- speed' Europe - led by the Euro-using community, with a secondary tier of membership for the others. When I was first in Brussels at the launch of the new currency, my German friends would ask why the UK had not joined the Euro. As with many simple questions, I could never find a really succinct answer. The conclusion was that the 'Brits' were not serious about the EU and would suffer as a consequence. The current decisions over national debt and the euro has reinvigorated this issue - the sight of David Cameron and the other leaders from non-Euro countries being dismissed from the meeting can only be a signal example of what might come. If economic issues are now to be determined by the Euro-club alone, this may well change the shape of EU government. Most issues could be classified as being 'economic' - take agriculture or transport policy. It is worth pondering whether UK lobbyists or public affairs people will have the influence they have enjoyed until now. The French phrase for two-speed is 'a deux vitesses' - which resonates more with me than the English equivalent. Apart from a possibility of reduced influence, what effect with this have on europhobia in England? I say England, because recent surveys have shown far greater support for the EU in Scotland and Wales. Whilst most people will find the outcomes of last night's summit a struggle to understand, the possible political consequences are clearer, but have enormous significance and potential to create all sorts of further difficulties.
A month ago, Peter Wynne Davies completed his second report on how public affairs can benefit businesses for the publisher, Thorogood. Whilst the public affairs market has grown in recent years and become far more competitive thanks to cuts in UK government expenditure, several new factors have surfaced in the profession. The report highlights the growth in social media to communicate quickly to key audiences, the rapid improvement in how trade associations communicate (especially in the Brussels arena) and the effects of devolved government within the UK. The growing professionalism of the industry has also resulted in teaching and preparation for the CIPR Diploma in public affairs. Whilst public confidence in the political classes continues to be fairly low, it is encouraging to hear politicians defend the real contribution that public affairs and its exponents have on legislative and regulatory issues. The report will be available on November 15, but can be pre-ordered with a discount - More information at www.macdonaldwynnedavies.com/resources.php
Periodically, Europe returns to the top of the political agenda. Today, as EU civil servants grapple with issues surrounding the euro and debt, there is a parliamentary debate in the House of Commons on Europe, forced on David Cameron by his own political innovation, the petition system. The last public vote on the EU was in 1975, so two generations of UK voters have grown up feeling a democratic deficit in not being able to influence a growing dynamic to centralise more power in Brussels. Having worked there, I am constantly asked for my views on a possible withdrawal. I always remember the words of a former French colleague, who was horrified at such a prospect. The key British contribution to the EU, according to him, was to moderate with common sense some of the wilder aspirations of EU civil servants. In the debates over the euro and member state debt, it is increasingly clear that the Franco-German machine is again at the fore. The results of tonight's vote on the debate are already known, but the European 'issue' will not go away. Perhaps lobbyists should regard Paris and Berlin as new targets, rather than Brussels?
I have followed the recent media coverage of Liam Fox, the former Defence Secretary, and his 'adviser' Adam Werritty with great interest. Inevitably there has been a renewed call from the media and some in politics for a statutory register of lobbyists. But would the Werritty case be covered by such a register? Of greater interest, but not yet spotted by the media, is the system whereby the EU pay NGOs large amounts of money to participate in 'public debate' on issues ( eg the environment). This money goes into NGO central funds and supports campaigns to oppose or overturn EU and member state policies. But EU money is public money so, is it right that public money is used to fund NGO campaigns against government policy? Should tax-payers' money be used by unelected NGOs to counter government policy. A register of lobbying will identify PRIVATE money used to influence government, but this is PUBLIC money provided by the tax payer. On which register is this declared? Answer - nowhere!
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