The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has published its response to the consultation on the draft regulations for the Statutory Register of Consultant Lobbyists. The document, which can be downloaded in full here, highlights a number of questions that still need to be addressed by the Government.
The CIPR has highlighted:
- The lack of clarity around the exact nature of the activity that will trigger the need to register.
- How ‘wider registration’ would help manage the compliance burden and could make registration a more straight-forward process.
- That the proposed ‘flat fee’ charging structure would penalise small businesses and their clients.
The CIPR has also called for information about how the Registrar will assess the ‘relevance’ of the codes of conduct that can be associated with Register entries, and whether sole traders will be forced publish their place of residence.
Commenting, Simon McVicker FCIPR, CIPR Public Affairs Group Chair, said: “There is a long way to go before CIPR members can be clear about what is and is not required of them to be compliant with the Statutory Register. It is difficult to answer the Government’s questions about aspects like the charging structure and likely administration costs for the firms and sole traders who will be hit by this law when there is so little guidance from them on the basics, such as what they envisage the scale of charging might be to start with.
“We look forward to meeting the Registrar, when they are finally formally appointed, and working with them to help them to provide the industry with the clarity it needs to ensure consultant lobbyists don’t fall foul of the law.”