And what about in-house?

Of course, membership of the APPC only extends to public affairs consultancies and doesn't include practitioners who work in-house for organisations. The CIPR and PRCA do have public affairs arms which practitioners are able to join but again, this isn't mandatory. All three bodies are currently working together to provide a standard code of conduct for all practitioners to work to and this is due for publication in the next few months.

However - and I think this is the regulator in me - there is always this question of voluntary membership which continues to irritate me. In an ideal world there would be an independent body which would cover the whole industry and there would be one Code of Conduct that all practitioners would have to adhere to. Any breaches of the Code would then be dealt with effectively in order to put an end to unethical practices and to be a deterrent to those thinking of breaking the rules. The ultimate punishment would be to be struck off, in the same way that a doctor would be, and to not be allowed to practise as a lobbyist again. This would also bring the industry in line with other professions and industries that already have more stringent regulatory bodies.

As to whether I think this will happen? Probably not in my lifetime but I think the industry will continue to be scrutinised and with the work of the APPC I think it will be successful in its bid to have all UK public affairs consultancies registered with it.