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  19. APPC Chairman responds to the Government response to the PASC report on lobbying
  20. Responses to consultation by Public Affairs Council Working Party published
  21. APPC AGM on 11 May 2009
  22. Public Affairs Council Working Party - News Release 7 May 2009
  23. APPC Management Committee statement on the PACS report
  24. Bellenden Public Affairs joins APPC
  25. Five more companies joins APPC
  26. APPC AGM on 12 May 2008
  27. APPC Annual Report 2008
  28. APPC Chair's Newsletter September 2008
  29. Cavendish Communications joins APPC
  30. Three more companies join APPC
  31. Tetra Strategy joins APPC
  32. Burson Marstellar & Edelman
  33. APPC holds training seminar in Wales
  34. APPC becomes 50!
  35. APPC Chair statement on Parliamentary passes
  36. John Grogan MP's EDM
  37. Munro & Forster joins APPC
  38. APPC AGM on 14 May
  39. APPC Annual Report 2007
  40. Four new APPC members
  41. Atherton Associates & JMC Partners join APPC
  42. APPC welcomes two new members
  43. APPC amends Code of Conduct
  44. Open Road joins APPC
  45. APPC membership grows again
  46. APPC welcomes Sir Philip Mawer
  47. New record membership
  48. Response to Times article
  49. Standards & Privileges Committee Report on APGs
  50. Response to EU lobbying paper
  51. Membership at new high
  52. APPC submission to inquiry into All Party Groups
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APPC Annual Report 2007

14 May 2007

APPC Annual Report 2007

The programme for this year was based on the management committee’s review meeting in April 2006; the resultant action plan was endorsed by members:
• To retain the two core principles of the Code of Conduct
• To campaign to raise the standards of ethics practiced by others in the sector
• To increase the frequency of the Register
• To make meetings less procedural
• To make Code compliance more meaningful
• To strive to increase membership

A further review meeting will be held in May 2007 to set the programme for the year ahead.

Code of Conduct
The Code was reviewed and an up-dated version was issued in March 2007,
including a new clause designed to prevent firms outside APPC claiming complete
adherence to the Code of Conduct without disclosing the names of clients and
consultants.

APPC has also been working closely with PRCA and CIPR GAG to develop generic guidelines on ethical lobbying for adoption by all public affairs practitioners who operate independently or in-house. The guidelines were adopted by APPC in March 2007 and high-level endorsement of the guidelines is being sought before launching them to a range of influential representative/employer organisations.

The management committee is continuing to work on proposals to make Code
compliance more meaningful. In view of its continuing popularity, the training seminar has been held twice this year. Both events were hosted by Hill & Knowlton, chaired by Gill Morris and led by Helen Johnson and Robbie MacDuff. Members of the management committee remain willing to conduct seminars in-house for members.


Register
The Register is now up-dated quarterly to improve transparency.

Membership
This has been a record year for growth, with 16 new members joining, bringing the total to 47 members. The Chair has recently been quoted by PA News as aiming for 50 members by the time of the next AGM. This is vitally important for the whole sector as the UK self-regulatory regime depends on it being accepted by all PA consultancies.

Communications and Meetings
To demonstrate APPC’s commitment to transparency and to improve communications, minutes of members’ meetings are now available on the re-designed APPC website. Minutes of management committee meetings are circulated to all members.

The members meetings have been increased from three to four this year, two of the meetings being followed by talks from Malcolm George of EDS and Sir Philip Mawer. More talks are planned, starting with John Grogan MP following the 2007 AGM.

A new website was put in place in autumn 2006. Members are encouraged to put a link from their own website to www.appc.org.uk.

External Relations
APPC held further meetings with Sir Philip Mawer, Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards, and with Sir Alistair Graham, Chairman of the Standards Committee. APPC responded to Sir Philip Mawer’s consultation on All Party Groups and Mark Adams participated in a radio programme on the subject. APPC has also responded to the consultation on the Code of Conduct for civil servants.

APPC was pleased to be approached by John Grogan MP who is campaigning for greater transparency in lobbying and specifically for all public sector PA consultancy contracts to be awarded only to APPC/PRCA member firms. As a result of his campaign, there is likely to be a Public Administration Committee investigation into lobbying.

European Transparency Initiative
APPC was pleased to be invited to meetings with the European Commission to advise on how the self-regulatory regime operates in the UK to inform the proposals on lobbying in the ETI. Whilst the proposals will not directly affect APPC members, there is a possibility of a knock-on effect in the UK. APPC is keeping in close liaison with its EU counterpart, EPACA, to monitor developments, particularly the as-yet undefined requirement for financial disclosure.

Media Relations
A number of press releases have been issued on the AGM, membership issues, changes to the Code of Conduct and training events. In addition, the Chair has talked to journalists from both the trade and national press, including The Times and The Guardian, amongst others.

APPC in Scotland
The new chair is Jo Nove of Greenhaus Communications, who succeeded Illiam Costain McCade, with Ross Laird of Citigate as secretary. APPC(S) held a successful event for MSPs in September 2006 and is now planning for the new Scottish Parliament after the May elections.

APPC in Wales
A meeting of the APPC members in Wales has been held and plans are in hand for a training seminar to be held in Cardiff.

Gill Morris
Chair
April 2007


 
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