PRCA welcomes lobbying announcement

London, 18 October 2011 - The PRCA (Public Relations Consultants Association) today welcomed the Government’s announcement that it will not speed up regulation of the lobbying industry.

The professional body, which represents public relations and public affairs professionals in the UK, 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, commented “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.”

He added in relation to a statutory register “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.”

                                                                                -ENDS-

Notes to Editors

For media enquiries please contact Richard Ellis, PRCA Communications Director – richard.ellis@prca.org.uk

About the PRCA

Who we are: Founded in 1969, the PRCA is the professional body that represents UK PR consultancies, in-house communications teams and PR freelancers and individuals. The PRCA promotes all aspects of public relations and internal communications work, helping teams and individuals maximise the value they deliver to clients and organisations.

What we do: The Association exists to raise standards in PR and communications, providing members with industry data, facilitating the sharing of communications best practice and creating networking opportunities.

How we do it and make a difference: All PRCA members are bound by a professional charter and codes of conduct, and benefit from exceptional training. The Association also works for the greater benefit of the industry, sharing best practice and lobbying on the industry's behalf e.g. fighting the NLA's digital licence.

 

Who we represent: The PRCA represents many of the major consultancies in the UK, and currently has more than 250 agency members from around the world including the majority of the top 100 UK consultancies. We also represent around 70 in-house communications teams from multinationals, UK charities and leading UK public sector organisations.

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