UNITED KINGDOM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL (UKPAC)

The UK Public Affairs Council (UKPAC) was created by three industry bodies: the Association of Professional Political Consultants (APCC) and the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA). Other bodies may join UKPAC if they wish. The purpose of UKPAC is to promote and uphold effective self-regulation for those professionals engaged in public affairs.

There are four key roles for UKPAC:

• To maintain a register of those organisations and individuals who provide lobbying services of the other organisations on whose behalf they lobby.
• To hold and review periodically the Guiding Principles covering those who lobby, examining how a common Code of Conduct enshrining the Principles can be established and keeping under review any related Codes of member bodies.
• To oversee the disciplinary arrangements necessary to enforce the Principles and any common Code; to allocate complaints against individuals or organisations within member bodies to the most appropriate body, ensuring that these are considered under the relevant Codes and procedures; and to review periodically the process through which complaints are considered by member bodies; and
• To promote with its member bodies high ethical standards in lobbying generally

UKPAC is overseen by a board comprising three independent members, including the Chairman, and representatives of each of the industry bodies.

According to UKPAC lobbying means, in a professional capacity, attempting to influence, or advising those who wish to influence, the UK Government, Parliament, the devolved legislatures or administrations, regional or local government or other public bodies on any matter within their competence.

Lobbyists are those who, in a professional capacity, work to influence, or advise those who wish to influence, the institutions of government in the UK, in respect to:

1.  the formulation, modification or adoption of any legislative measure (including the development of proposals for legislation);
2.  the formulation, modification or adoption of a rule, regulation or any other programme, policy or position;
3.  the administration or execution of a governmental or other public programme or policy within the UK (including the negotiation, award or administration of a public contract, grant, loan, permit or licence).

Institutions of government means the UK Government, Parliament, the devolved legislatures or administrations, regional or local government or other public bodies.

Public Affairs services means the provision of:

1. lobbying or advice on lobbying as defined above;
2. services with intent to assist lobbying, including the provision of monitoring, public affairs and programme support, strategic communications advice, profile raising, decision-making analyses and perception auditing services .

Public Affairs practitioner means any individual who, in a professional capacity, provides, as a substantive and sustained part of their responsibilities, public affairs services as defined above.

Range of public affairs services lobbying firms might provide to third party clients and/or services that an in-house public affairs professional might carry out for his or her employer:

• Audience Research and Polling
• Campaign Planning
• Coalition Building
• Event Creation and Management
• Grass-Roots Campaigning
• Horizon Scanning
• Intelligence Gathering
• Issue Seminars and Roundtables
• Issues and Crisis Management
• Legislative and Regulatory Tracking
• Message and Narrative Development
• Message Training and Rehearsal
• Perceptions Auditing
• Policy and Risk Analysis
• Policy Research
• Political Media Relations
• Political Monitoring
• Reputation Management
• Stakeholder and Issues Mapping/Analysis
• Stakeholder Contact Management
• Strategic Advice and Counsel
• Strategic Sponsorship
• Strategy Development
• Training
• Written Submissions and Briefings

These roles may be provided in various combinations and may carry different titles or descriptions. Some of the most common include:

Monitoring means providing both advice and analysis of activities in Parliament and Whitehall, in the political parties, local government, public bodies, pressure groups, think tanks and EU institutions, including debates, questions, committee inquiries, statements, reports, legislation and regulation.

Public Affairs and Programme Support means, for example, assistance with political research, with drafting written submissions to Government consultations and select committee inquiries, and with the administration of programmes of meetings with target audiences.

Profile Raising means supporting organisations wanting to be better known and understood by political stakeholders as they engage with Government, Parliament and other key influencers.

Decision Making Analysis means helping individuals organisations wanting policy, legislative or regulatory change to understand who the key decision makers are, when to approach them and how best to make the individual’s or organisation’s case.

Strategic Communications Advice means full campaigns in the political arenas to achieve particular objectives, often within a framework of wider internal communications and public relations work.

Audit means testing the perceptions held of organisations by political and other stakeholders, and auditing the effectiveness of previous political engagement.