Industry News

9th April 2013

Bircham Dyson Bell: Roads Sector Newsletter

Enhancing the UK's road network is the heart of the current focus on infrastructure as a means of stimulating growth. But the planning, funding and authorisation of that network remains a controversial subject and one which the Government is currently wrestling with. Leading infrastructure lawyers Bircham Dyson Bell produce a biannual newsletter on topical legal issues in the roads sector, and the latest issue can be found online here.

The team at Bircham Dyson Bell has considerable expertise in this area - for more information please email Tom Henderson or call 02077833418.

21st February 2013

The Balance of Competences Review: Have Your Say

The Balance of Competence review is an opportunity for people from across the spectrum, including business, industry bodies and think-tanks to have their say on the big EU issues that matter here in the UK. The review is a coalition commitment to analyse where the EU helps and where it hinders. There is still time to contribute to the first wave of reports, which includes key topics such as the Single Market and Foreign Policy. To have your say and for more information visit the review pages or contribute to the debate using twitter #BOCReview.

The call for evidence for first semester reports is open until the end of February 2013. These are: an overview of the Internal Market (Department for Business, Innovation & Skills); Taxation (Treasury); Foreign Policy (Foreign & Commonwealth Office); Development Co-operation and Humanitarian Aid (Department for International Development); Health (Department of Health); and Animal Health and Welfare and Food Safety (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs).

25th January 2013

Zeitgeist Speechwriting: Philip Fiske de Gouveia

Looking for support in preparing high-level speeches and presentations?

Experienced London-based speechwriter Philip Fiske de Gouveia is now available for freelance writing assignments (corporate, policy and political) including speeches, ghost-writing and op-eds. He has an excellent track record writing for corporate clients (senior executives and CEOs), as well as fifteen years' writing experience as a BBC journalist and government policy researcher. He's interested in hearing both from potential clients (individuals or organisations), and agencies looking to out-source work. He's also available to help 'not-for-profit' organisations on a 'pro-bono' basis.

For more information please visit ZeitgeistSpeechwriting.com.

22nd January 2013

NCVO Launches Not-for-Profit Public Affairs Consultancy Service

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has launched the UK’s first not-for-profit public affairs consultancy service aimed at charities. The new service will help organisations get a foothold in Westminster and Whitehall whilst helping decision-makers better understand the needs of the people they support.

Focussing on strategic advice and training, the service will ensure that public policy is better informed by the experiences of people on the ground. The service will provide advice on how best to influence public policy, build alliances and shape legislation. It will also provide a range of training packages covering every aspect of engaging with Westminster and Whitehall, whether that be preparing for a select committee appearance or understanding the inner workings of government.

Danny Herbert has joined NCVO from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to head up the new service. Chloe Stables and Herbert will lead the public affairs consultancy work, drawing on a wide pool of experts with politics and charity experience.

Chloe Stables, NCVO’s Parliamentary and Media Manager said: ‘Many charities feel they need to engage with the political system in order to best help the people they work on behalf of, but may lack the confidence, knowledge or resources to do so. Big public affairs agencies can seem hard to approach and hard to afford for smaller charities.

Danny Herbert said: ‘I’m excited about the potential of this new service. Charities are routinely and rightly at the heart of many political debates. They are often the absolute experts on many of the toughest problems politicians try to deal with and can provide advice that’s rooted in reality and valued by politicians.’

4th January 2013

2013: A Political Preview from Insight Public Affairs

2012 was a difficult year for the Coalition. The sluggish economy, the ‘omnishambles’, and the Leveson Inquiry all presented huge challenges to the unity of the Government. In our 2013 Political Preview we consider whether the year ahead will see a mid-term revival for the Coalition or whether it will mark the beginning of the end.

This year the Government faces further tests. Economic austerity continues as more cuts are set to be announced by the Chancellor, likely to be outlined in both the Budget and forthcoming Comprehensive Spending Review. The new NHS commissioning system also goes live in April, presenting the Health Secretary with a number of major challenges. Furthermore, internal battles loom over issues such as Europe, gay marriage and the welfare budget, raising the possibility of more backbench rebellions.

For our 2013 Political Preview, please click here. For further information contact John Lehal on 020 7824 1865 or at john@insightpa.com

19th December 2012

Cicero Group report: Continental Drift: An analysis of global political risk for 2013

Wherever you are deploying capital, there is no room for complacency about political risk. Our teams in London, Brussels, Washington and Singapore have picked the key developments that they think could shape the political economy of their regions in 2013.

In addition, we have interviewed a range of commentators and market participants to get their views on the year ahead. You will see their analysis in the Viewpoint boxes throughout the report. The result is a rich smorgasbord of fact, opinion and crystal ball gazing.

This is not an enterprise with scientific pretensions nor is it exhaustive. Rather, the main purpose of this analysis is to provoke discussion and debate about the year ahead. We hope you enjoy reading it.

To directly download the Report from the Cicero website please click here.

17th December 2012

APPC Broadens Membership to Non-Consultancy Public Affairs Practitioners

The Association of Professional Political Consultants (APPC) has announced the widening of its membership from January 2013 to include individual public affairs practitioners in addition to public affairs consultancies and their staff.

The new ‘Associate Membership’ level will cost £75 + VAT per annum and offers benefits including:

Admission to the APPC Register and automatic admission to the UKPAC Register;
APPC Code of Conduct training and adherence to the APPC Code of Conduct with an annual compliance procedure.

A Committee for Associate Members with representation on the APPC's Management Committee has also been announced.

APPC Chair, Michael Burrell, said: “I’m delighted to announce this step forward, responding to the demand of in-house PA practitioners to have access to the ‘gold standard’ Code of Conduct in the industry. This comes at a time when APPC’s traditional membership continues to grow - now standing at 74 members”.

12th December 2012

Issue 10 of Zetter's Political Companion - January 2013 - is now available

This is the biggest issue yet, with an extra 12 pages of information.

Features in this issue include:

Updated and expanded Ministerial Responsibilities
New post-reshuffle list of Parliamentary Private Secretaries
Updated list of Special Advisers
Results of six Westminster by-elections
Complete list of elected Mayors
Complete list of Police and Crime Commissioners
List of MPs standing down at the general election

Despite being bigger and better than ever the price remains the same - £20 for a single copy or £65 for an annual subscription.

The book can be purchased direct from us by emailing info@zetterspolitical.com or via Amazon: Single Issue or Yearly Subscription (four issues).

7th December 2012

CIPR Public Affairs Group Christmas Lunch

There are a few tickets left for the CIPR Public Affairs group Christmas lunch which this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Government Affairs Group (GAG). The event is sponsored by Zetter's Political.

The lunch takes place on Friday 14 December from 12.30pm at The English Pig (formerly The Atrium). The Guest Speaker is Sir Bob Worcester, founder of MORI. Click here to book tickets.

27th November 2012

Thinkl.com - the UK's first free public policy and research monitor website launched

The new Thinkl.com web application uses Artificial Intelligence to analyse and collect new data from 100 UK and EU Government sources and the UK top 50 think-tanks - categorising into 100 different policy themes for easy, customisable monitoring.

The thinkl archive includes a database of 7000 think-tank research reports, and 24,000 news releases, speeches and consultations documents from Central Government, NDPBs, Parliament, EU and Devolved Administrations.

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