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The latest public sector news, opinion and features.
Got a story? Contact Ian Griggs on 020 8267 4893 or ian.griggs@haymarket.com.
News and news analysis
Four in ten registered lobbying firms not signed up to industry ethical codes
More than four in ten lobbying firms listed on the UK government's official register, including major consultancies Finsbury and Brunswick, have not signed up to official industry ethical codes, PRWeek has learned.
Home Office chicken shop knife crime campaign has been 'politicised' and was 'never about race'
The Home Office's controversial anti-knife crime campaign targeting chicken shop customers has 'never been about race' - and has been 'politicised', says one agency boss involved in the wider initiative against knife attacks.
'Racist, cynical, badly targeted': PR pros slate Home Office #knifefree chicken shop campaign
PR professionals have criticised a new Home Office anti-knife crime campaign that focuses on chicken shop customers for being poorly targeted and with racist undertones.
Fleishman asks PRCA to investigate its role in alleged astroturfing campaign
FleishmanHillard Fishburn has called on the PRCA to investigate its work with SMG Europe after it has been accused of using misleading tactics, including astroturfing.
Leeds Beckett University appoints agency to promote £45m sports-science facility
Leeds Beckett University has appointed Aberfield Communications for a comms and campaign brief on behalf of the institution's Carnegie School of Sport.
Cabinet Office data reveals average Civil Service comms salaries for the first time
Communications is in the bottom half of professions in the Civil Service in terms of pay, according to new data released by the Cabinet Office.
Government comms spending triples as departments prepare for Brexit
The amount spent by the government on campaigns and comms staff has more than tripled over the past financial year due to the demands of Brexit, according to new data from the Cabinet Office.
'Float to live' says special ops veteran in latest tranche of RNLI prevention campaign
A former commando trained in how to survive in hostile environments is the celebrity influencer fronting a new bid by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) to prevent deaths from drowning.
Brexit stockpiling fears as EU calls for improved comms around medicine shortages
Government bodies across Europe, including the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in the UK, are being urged by the EU to improve the way medicines shortages are communicated to prevent stockpiling.
British Army ramps up information warfare capability to meet 21st-century threats
The British Army is reconfiguring its forces to better enable it to fight in what is an escalating information war.
Exclusive: Met Police hires Daily Mail executive news editor to lead media work
Chris Greenwood, executive news editor at the Daily Mail, is to join the Metropolitan Police as head of media later this year, PRWeek can reveal.
Former NHS comms chief sets up as freelance consultant
Chloe Watson has stepped down from her role as head of comms and engagement at North London Partners in Health and Care, which includes 28 NHS and local authority organisations, to go freelance.
Highland Marketing poaches ex-NHS comms manager
Experienced comms professional Jon Salmon has left Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, where he was comms manager, to join health tech specialist Highland Marketing as an account director.
Rule-breaking council mag which 'failed to reach' all residents faces axe
A controversial council magazine, produced in breach of government guidance aimed at protecting local media from unfair competition, is on the brink of closure after councillors narrowly voted in favour of scrapping it.
Opinion and features
Peri Peri stupid: Home Office misses mark with #knifefree chicken shop campaign
The Home Office's #knifefree campaign left I and many industry peers with the uncomfortable feeling that (beyond any racist undertones) this was a series of missed opportunities on an issue that now more than ever needs a smart and relevant campaign.
Warwick University's comms: If you don't put the safety of people first, you've failed
The Warwick 'group chat' scandal, the coverage and the commentary, is a tragic reminder of the distance we need to travel as an industry to raise the bar and fulfil our leadership potential.
Will the industry's London-bias thwart its future success?
London has long established itself as a global business, creative and media hub resulting in so many agencies and clients being based there.
'What's your advice?' Creating a coaching culture in public sector comms
Those three simple words are among the most empowering you're likely to hear in the workplace.
If you want to run a campaign for good: be credible, be authentic and mean it
This week we are celebrating the winners of the second Campaigns for Good Awards.
The NHS comms gap: don't make promises about tech that the service might not be able to keep
As the NHS faces unprecedented challenges, it's more important than ever to effectively communicate the ongoing modernisation of its tech systems.
Let comms teams set the agenda in the public sector to increase trust
Public sector communications - both the PR professionals themselves and the organisations they represent - hold the key to trust in our institutions.
Former Boris Johnson adviser: The shifting tides of modern leadership require authenticity, accountability and humility
Big Ben has been silent for nearly two years, yet technology and society seem to move at the speed of light and the challenges to reputation are almost infinite.
When it comes to LGBTQ+, we can all learn from 'T'
A transgender racing driver who was the guest speaker at the PRCA's LGBTQ+ re-launch event this week made me consider how much people dislike change.
Fellow students say 'PR sucks' but I have renewed faith in the power of earned
Tell people that you're leaving a perfectly good job to go and be a full-time student and everyone is lovely and positive. They can spot a mid-career crisis a mile off.
Greater use of employment tribunals could reduce sexual harassment in PR and comms
The PRCA survey into sexual harassment is sad reading but not surprising, and is borne out by my experience in advising NUJ members in the PR industry and indeed across other sectors of the media.
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Senior Journalist and Writer Liverpool Hope University Liverpool, Merseyside
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Head of Communications The Talent Set Berkshire
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Director of Communications The Talent Set London (Central)
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Director, Head of Healthcare - Geneva Office (Leading Network Firm) Lee-Roberts Search Geneva, Canton of Geneva (CH)
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Assistant Director: Communications, Public Affairs & Engagement London Borough of Hounslow Hounslow (London Borough), London (Greater)
Recent public sector people moves
Former Number 10 special adviser joins MSL
PR firm MSL has appointed the Lib Dems' ex-head of political communications Sean Kemp, as the agency looks to expand its corporate reputation offer.
Cicero's Nikki da Costa returns to Number 10; familiar Boris Johnson press aides predicted to follow
Cicero's senior counsel Nikki da Costa will return to Number 10 as its director of legislative affairs following the election of Boris Johnson as Conservative Party leader and new Prime Minister, PRWeek has learned.
London council appoints director of strategy and comms
Paul Bates, who has 20 years of experience in comms, has been named director of strategy and communications at Lambeth Council.
The Pope's former spokesperson appointed comms director of leading business school
The Vatican's former spokesperson has been appointed as director of communications of the IESE Business School.
Public First hires former House of Commons deputy speaker
Former Labour MP and deputy speaker of the House of Commons Natascha Engel has joined campaigns and policy consultancy Public First as a partner to head up the agency's growing specialism in infrastructure and regulation.
Former Pagefield partner relishes 'fascinating and enormous task' after joining Brexit Party
Ex-Pagefield creative director and partner Lesley Katon joined the Brexit Party in March this year to help with its European Elections launch.
Tory peer James O'Shaughnessy re-joins Portland as member of its advisory council
Conservative peer and former Tory minister James O'Shaughnessy has re-joined Portland as a member of the agency's advisory council, PRWeek can reveal.