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As reported by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), Alison White, the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists, met on Wednesday with CIPR Public Affairs Group Chairman Simon McVicker, committee members and practitioners concerning "the details of the consultation she is about to launch on some of the key details of the new statutory register". One of the issues discussed was her “call for a voluntary move from the [consultant lobbyist] profession” concerning disclosure of their contact with ministers and civil servants.

Alistair McCapra, CIPR Chief Executive, has written online "As Alison pointed out, the [lobbying] legislation requires consultant lobbyists to record details of their clients, but not of the ministers or civil servants they have contacted. This is a strange flaw, and because of it, the register cannot provide the level of transparency which was promised when the new legislation was debated in Parliament. She believes that for the law to have the intended effect, lobbyists should disclose whom they have contacted as well as whom they are representing.” Continuing that Alison White will “rely entirely on the profession to deliver this voluntarily”, as she has no power to require this.

The CIPR will in due course respond to any consultation over the next few weeks, though McCapra states "I want to argue that the CIPR’s response to her challenge needs to be a resounding ‘yes’", not least because “public confidence in lobbyists is low”, continuing “That's not to say that there are considerations which weigh against agreeing. It is another regulatory burden; it might be that clients are potentially driven away from the searchlight of the register to look for consultants who will help them find ways of avoiding the public eye” and went on to say "the CIPR needs to think long and hard before beginning our relationship with the new Registrar by saying ‘no’."                                     

The Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) has responded to Alison White’s challenge with Francis Ingham, Director General, saying “I have to say that the registrar’s comments border on the absurd. She is basically saying that the job she applied for and was appointed to is meaningless. Thes comments-if reported accurately- reduce the quango's credibility from minimal to zero" and continuing that "Alastair McCapra is wrong to suggest that the industry should be scared to say NO. On the contrary, it should give the right answer, not the politically convenient one."

“We at the PRCA will continue to call for a fundamental rethink of the flawed act, and will no[t] be involved in this minor tinkering. We will also continue to stand up for our industry in the face of those who unfairly denigrate it or laden it with pointless burdens.

“It is also important to point out that it is already entirely in the Government’s power to record information about meetings of ministers and civil servants with public affairs practitioners, via ministerial and civil service diaries.”