The UK Public Affairs Council (UKPAC), which provided a voluntary register of lobbyists in order to promote public confidence in all of those who lobby in a professional capacity, has announced its closure. UKPAC was set up in 2010 by standards and representative bodies in the public affairs community to operate a register of lobbyists, the firms and bodies they work for and the clients using their services. The register contained over 400 entities, 1,500 lobbyists and over 2,500 clients.
The decision was explained to the Government and stakeholders in an open letter from UKPAC Chair George Kidd on the 28th June which stated “The register has been a valuable aid to transparency [which] demonstrated the sector’s commitment to transparency and showed how a register could be operated on a low cost basis” continuing that “The intention…is to wind-up UKPAC as a separate national register and to pass responsibility for a continuing voluntary register to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)”.
The CIPR has written to all members currently practising Public Affairs, setting out the Institute’s plans to bring forward a new voluntary register – the UK Lobbying Register (UKLR). It is understood that the UKLR will be operational from the middle of July and housed in a separate new website.
Following the low-cost theme, the UKLR is to be free of charge to search and register with, whilst “providing the public with a channel to complain about the conduct of a registered lobbyist”. All registrants will be bound by a code of conduct, either the CIPR's or another relevant and effective code. Further details on the complaint process will be forthcoming, which may be tied to registrants own codes of conduct followed, whether these are the CIPR, APPC or PRCA. UKLR will welcome all lobbyists - agency, in-house or freelance – as registrants, but for example it will be a requirement of CIPR membership for any members who lobby to join.
Alastair McCapra, CIPR CEO, said “The CIPR is committed to promoting transparency and high standards of professional conduct in lobbying. This combined approach represents the best route to increase understanding and public confidence. The new UK Lobbying Register is just one of the tools enabling us to accomplish that objective, being open, universal and free – a resource for the public and industry alike”.