Institutes finally agree a meeting

The IPR, the PRCA and the Association of Professional Political

Consultants (APPC) have taken almost six months to agree to a first

meeting of their joint working group on the regulation of lobbyists.

The three bodies have not met since announcing their joint initiative

last July (PR Week, 24 July), but, following a request for action from

the PRCA and the APPC, the IPR has agreed to meet the other

associations.

The three bodies have been spurred to agree a joint position by a recent

decision by parliamentary charity the Hansard Society to host a closed

meeting on lobbyists’ regulation next March. The society will invite the

APPC, PRCA and IPR together with bodies representing charities and

pressure groups to attend.

IPR president Peter Walker said: ’Nobody would suggest there’s been a

delay. You don’t get to a position where you resolve how to establish

something that will work effectively in a hurry.’