CIPR_No_Rules_Britannia - Flipbook - Page 9
An overview: The Westminster system
Lobbying is predominantly regulated by the Transp
parencyy of
Lobbyying
g, Non-Partyy Camp
paig
gning
g and Trade Union Administration
Act 2014 (The Lobbying Act). Split into three parts - the 昀椀rst for
consultant lobbyists, the second for charities, and the third for
trade unions - the bulk of the Act aimed to more stringently
regulate activities that could be classi昀椀ed as campaigning by
non-party organisations during election periods. However, the
Act also aimed to ensure that the practice of lobbying was more
transparent to the public.
In Westminster, ‘regulated lobbying’ only refers to
consultant lobbyists. That means only organisations
that lobby for and get paid by other organisations are
included. If these lobbying organisations are under the
VAT threshold, they are also exempt from registering.
• For more information on the Lobbying Act, read the
CIPR’s ‘Failure by Design’ report.
Consultant lobbyists must register with the Of昀椀ce of the
Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL) and disclose
their lobbying activities. ORCL, sponsored by the Cabinet
Of昀椀ce, oversees this process and enforces compliance.
The lobbying regulations are further limited by the
types of communications that need to be registered.
Only consultants who communicate with a Government
Minister or a Permanent Secretary on behalf of a third
party for payment need to register that communication.
However, the majority of lobbying activity is not
undertaken by consultant lobbyists who earn over the
VAT thresholds. In-house lobbyists for corporations,
NGOs, think tanks, trade associations, trade unions and
others all directly lobby the Government and political
parties. It is estimated that consultant lobbyists only make
up around 20% of lobbyists. Research from Transparency
International in 2015 estimated that just 4% of lobbying
activity is covered by the register, highlighting the
critical lack of reporting which happens under the
current system.
Ultimately, the major 昀氀aw of Westminster’s lobbying
registration is that lobbying is considered a job rather
than a type of activity.
The result is a Lobbying Register that ultimately fails to
capture the majority of lobbying activity. Westminster’s
Lobbying Register is far smaller and takes in far fewer
interactions than its international counterparts.
Westminster’s Lobbying Register is far
smaller and takes in far fewer interactions
than its international counterparts.
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CIPR / No Rules Britannia?
