policy

The House of Lords – a modern anachronism?

The UK is unique in having a largely appointed second chamber. How can it help you to influence the policy agenda?

We’re often told that the UK is the trailblazer of parliamentary democracy – a model which has been emulated the world over, and which provides for stable government. Whether or not that is the case, there is one quirk of the UK model which hasn’t proved to be quite such a popular export, and that is the role of an appointed House of Lords within our bi-cameral system.

While our model of a largely appointed second chamber might be highly unusual (and almost unique when you factor in the remaining hereditary element of the House of Lords), it is an important part of our parliamentary system, and one that anyone seeking to influence the policy process would be foolish to overlook.

In this post, I look at the role that the House of Lords plays in the policy process and offer some tips on how to make best use of the second chamber as part of your influencing strategy.

The shape of the House of Lords

The House of Lords is one of the largest upper houses of parliament anywhere in the world and is famously second only in size to the Chinese National People’s Congress.

In 2015, there were more than 800 active members of the House of Lords (yet only enough seats for 400!). While historically most Peers were hereditary, today the vast majority are life peers, appointed to the House by successive Prime Ministers and other party leaders. Other peers are a mix of bishops and hereditary peers (whose number has been dramatically reduced in recent rounds of reform).

On the Government benches, there are House of Lords ministers representing Departments of State, and many members take a party whip. However, unlike its democratic counterpart, the House of Lords has many crossbench peers – members of the House of Lords who are not politically aligned. Cross bench peers tend to be subject-matter experts, appointed to the House of Lords because of their special interests or contribution to national life.

Controversies

In any discussion about the House of Lords, it is impossible to ignore the highly controversial nature of the existence of a largely appointed second chamber in a modern democracy. Quite apart from the big question-mark over the lack of direct (or even indirect) election to the second chamber, the UK system is also unique in having representatives of the established church playing a role in the legislative process. Add to that the continued presence of an (albeit much reduced) hereditary element, and the role that the Prime Minister (and other party leaders) play in appointing members of the House of Lords (leading to accusations of cronyism), and it’s easy to see why many people might consider the House of Lords to have had its day.

Reform of the House of Lords

The House of Lords has been under almost constant reform. Aside from the big constitutional changes brought about by the Parliament Acts, there have been a constant stream of smaller, but equally significant, reforms over the years.

Its shape has been significantly amended in the last 100 years. The Life Peerages Act of 1958 precipitated the transition from a largely hereditary chamber to an appointed one, and the 1999 House of Lords Act removed all but 92 of the remaining hereditary peers.

Most recently, under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government of 2010, proposals were drawn up which would have capped the size of the House of Lords and introduce direct elections for 80 per cent of the members of the Lords. Those proposals were swiftly dropped by the Coalition Government in the face of opposition from the Conservative Party. But the question of Lords reform remains high on the constitutional reform to-do list.

However, the purpose of this post is not to rehearse the arguments for and against reform of the House of Lords, but to focus on the role that it plays in the policy process, and therefore its importance for anyone seeking to influence the development of government policy.

The role that the House of Lords plays

Until the passing of the 1911 Parliament Act, the House of Lords held enormous power, and was able to veto any legislation that had been passed by the democratically elected House of Commons. The 1911 Act was one of the most important changes to the (notoriously unwritten) British Constitution and marked the transition of the House of Lords from equal partner in the parliamentary system to a chamber of review and reflection. Today, the House of Lords can only, at best, delay legislation sent to it from the House of Commons, and even then in relatively limited circumstances and only for up to a year. Its powers have been significantly curtailed over the last century.

Today, it is a chamber that seeks to hold government to account, and which seeks to influence government policy. It can no longer simply block legislation but can give the government of the day pause for thought if there is significant opposition from Peers. Perhaps the best example of that was the Labour administration withdrawing its plans to introduce mandatory identification cards in the face of opposition from the House of Lords in 2006.

The Salisbury Convention means that traditionally the House of Lords does not seek to block or delay legislation that was included in the manifesto of the government of the day, given that such legislation has a direct mandate from the electorate. By convention, the Lords are also not able to block or delay any bill relating to finance or taxation.

The soft power of the House of Lords

So rather than relying on the hard power of parliamentary process, the House of Lords often seeks to use soft power. Through close inspection, review, and challenge, it seeks to help shape and influence the development of policy, and the decisions that the government takes.

In many ways, members of the House of Lords play quite a similar role to those of us outside of the parliamentary system who are looking for ways to influence the policy process.

Working with members of the House of Lords

Working with members of the House of Lords is quite different to working with members of the House of Commons. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you make best use of the House of Lords as a route to influencing government policy.

Tip #1: They don’t have to worry about troublesome elections!

Compared to elected parliamentarians, members of the Lords don’t have to think about how electorally popular they might be. This means that they can be more likely to speak up and be vocal on matters of principle which are important to them compared to their elected counterparts. It’s a curious advantage of not being democratically elected.

Tip #2: There is more time for debate

Debates in the Lords tend to be longer and deeper than those in the Commons. This means that it is easier to communicate nuance and subtlety than it is in the Commons, which can be particularly helpful when the issue that you are trying to influence or communicate is complicated. There are some parallels with Commons debates in Westminster Hall in that regard.

Tip #3: It’s easier for the Lords to challenge the government

Partly because the House of Lords effectively has ‘no overall control’ as the government benches do not command a majority, it is quite common for the House of Lords to table (and support) amendments to Government legislation that would be unthinkable in the Commons. Although such amendments often go on to be overturned by the Commons, it can be a really powerful way of raising the profile of a particular issue. Sometimes, the government will listen to the voices of Peers, and accept such amendments too.

Tip #4: They don’t have staff

One important difference between members of the House of Commons compared to members of the House of Lords is that Peer frequently won’t have the staffing capacity that their elected counterparts have (both in their constituencies and in their Common’s offices). This is important to bear in mind when you’re working with Peers. It means that you’re much more likely to be dealing directly with the Peer themselves, rather than any staff. It also means that building a positive and constructive working relationship is even more important, and you will need to think carefully about what they might need in terms of support or briefings.

Tip #5: They are often subject matter experts

Appointees to the House of Lords are frequently experts in their particular field, so finding the Peers with relevant interests and knowledge should be a key part of your influencing strategy. Encouraging such experts to get involved in relevant All-Party Parliamentary Groups, for example, can be really effective.

What is your experience of working with members of the House of Lords? Have they been a valuable route to influence government policy? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

If you or your organisation are looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some help or advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Just drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ link above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk

Using the Freedom of Information Act to influence policy

The Freedom of Information Act can be a really powerful tool in the influencing toolkit. It can help you extract information, identify policy weakness, and even generate news stories

Photo by AbsolutVision on Unsplash

Freedom of Information (FoI) requests can be a really effective tool for influencing policy. As well as helping to fill gaps in data or information, they can be particularly useful to determine the extent to which national policy might be being implemented locally or regionally. As I have explored in a previous post, so much of the responsibility for policy decision making is devolved away from central government departments. This can make it harder to find out what is happening on the ground, how well a government’s stated objectives for a particular policy are being achieved, or simply whether the policy is even being implemented in the first place.

In this post, I take a look at what Freedom of Information requests are and how you can use them to support your policy influencing work. I’ll explore how to construct a request that will get you the information that you need, and some of the ways that you can use the results.

What is a Freedom of Information Act request?

The Freedom of Information Act (2000) and the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act (2002) give citizens the right to request certain information from public authorities. This means that you can ask for information from UK government departments, devolved administrations and other public bodies including councils, schools and colleges, the NHS, the police and fire services, and publicly owned companies, among others. It does not, however, apply to private organisations or companies.

How do you submit a request?

You can submit a Freedom of Information request in a variety of different ways – by letter, email, social media or even by fax (if you still use those!). Some organisations may even have an online form of their website to use to submit a request.

It doesn’t matter how you make your request – it will be treated the same by the organisation receiving it.

There are some basic bits of information that you will need to include however you might be submitting your request. This includes:

Your name
Contact details (a postal or email address)
A description of the information that you are requesting

If you want to receive information in a particular format, you can also ask at this point too. For example, you might want paper or electronic copies, or information in an accessible format such as audio or large print.

Can a request be denied?

Yes, it can. It can be denied if you have asked the wrong organisation for the information that you want (think carefully about which organisation actually has the information that you need). You request can also be turned down if you are seeking personal or certain sensitive information that is not made available to the public (although you should be told if this is the case).

Importantly, a request can be turned down if it would simply cost too much for the organisation to gather the information that you are asking for. The limit for this is set at £450, or £600 if the organisation is a government department, Parliament, the armed forces, the Northern Ireland Assembly or Welsh Government, or if the organisation is based in Scotland. In calculating the cost of gathering the data, it’s worth noting that organisations cost a person’s time at £25 per hour.

If your request is denied, you can ask the organisation to review their decision. If you’re still not satisfied, you can go to the Information Commissioner’s Office (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or the Scottish Information Commissioner.

However, if your request is turned down, it might be that the way you put your request together was either too vague, or too broad. You might just need to go back and look again at the question that you have asked. It’s well worth taking a bit of time at the beginning of the process to frame your questions appropriately.

How do you structure a request that will get you what you need?

To make sure that your request generates the information that you want and need, it’s worth taking a bit of time to get it right. It’s also worth bearing in mind that frivolous or unfocused requests cost the taxpayer money, so it’s important to make the most efficient and effective use of the Freedom of Information Act.

There are a few tips to making sure that your request gets you what you need:

Do your research first

Make sure that you know which organisation will have the information that you need, and that the information hasn’t already been published or made available. Spending a bit of time researching what has been asked before could save a lot of time and energy, and targeting the right organisation will reduce the chances of your request being turned down at the first hurdle.

Be as specific as possible

Try to be as specific as you can possibly be about the information that you are asking for. Avoid requests that ask for ‘all the information’ on a particular topic (those are likely to be turned down on cost grounds), or which are unclear about what you are asking for. The more specific you can be, the better. It will make your life, and that of the organisation you are requesting the information from, so much easier.

Plan ahead

Allow enough time to get the information that you need. Be prepared that if your initial request is turned down, you might need to try again in a slightly different way.

How long will it take?

When you submit a request, the organisation that you are requesting the information from has 20 working days to respond. It’s worth noting that this doesn’t necessarily mean that you will have the information that you requested within 20 working days. If your request is denied, you will also be informed within this time limit. You may also be told within that 20 working day limit that it will take the organisation longer to gather the information that you have asked for. Be prepared to be patient.

How can FoI requests support policy influencing?

Freedom of Information requests can be a really useful tool to support your policy influencing work. They can help you access information that a public authority might not routinely make publicly available (such as statistics or data), to unpick what information is collected on a particular topic, or to understand how well, or not, a particular policy is being implemented at a local level.

Establishing whether and how a policy might be being implemented locally

In my opinion, one of the most powerful ways to use Freedom of Information Act request is to establish whether and how a particular policy is being implemented locally. As I have described in a previous post, many aspects of public policy are devolved to a more local level, which can make it difficult to establish what is happening on the ground.

If you take a look at the response from government ministers to parliamentary questions you will quite quickly see that the response of ‘that information is not collected centrally’ is quite commonly used where responsibility for the implementation of a particular policy is devolved to other organisations. That is quite common in health and care policy, but also in education and several other aspects of public policy.

That does not, of course, mean that the information isn’t available at all – just that it isn’t collected or collated at a national level. This is a great example of where a Freedom of Information Act request can be used to help fill that gap.

You might decide that a good way to get the information that you need is to ask regional or local public authorities who are more likely to have the information that you need. You might be interested in a national picture (in which case you might want to make the same request of all areas), or a particular local area or region.

Making this kind of ‘mass request’, where you ask a lot of organisations for the same information to build up a national picture, can be a really effective influencing tool. It will help you to hold government to account for the delivery of a particular policy commitment, for example, or help you to evidence a particular issue that might require government action.

If you are planning to deploy this ‘mass request’ approach, there are a few things to bear in mind to maximise your chances of success.

Test your questions first

If you’re asking a large number of organisations for the same information, it’s worth testing that the questions you are asking will generate the information that you need. Before you send a request to all schools, colleges, police authorities or NHS organisations, it’s worth testing your request with a much smaller number. If there are any problems with the way that you are framing your request, you’ll have a chance to correct it before you go out to all of the relevant organisations – saving you, and them, time and money.

Get advice

Most FoI officers will be happy to work with you to make sure that your request is shaped as well as it can be. Afterall, it’s in their interest to have well-crafted requests as much as it is in yours to target the information that you need. While this applies to any FoI request, it’s particularly important if you are planning to deploy a ‘mass request’ technique.

Using FoI information with the media

Freedom of Information Act requests can be a fantastic resource to build a media story on a particular topic. They can help identify gaps, show trends, or highlight deficiencies in public policy. If you have such a capacity within your organisation, it’s worth working closely with your media or communications colleagues to explore whether or not there might be a media story in the information that you gather, although remember that it’s important to use such information responsibly, and to provide context to the information that you gather. As I have explored in a previous post, the media can also be a powerful tool for influencing the policy agenda.

Conclusion

Freedom of Information Act requests can be a really powerful tool in the policy influencing toolkit. They can help you to extract information that might not be made readily available, or to identify weaknesses in the implementation of policy at a local level.

What ways have you used Freedom of Information Act requests to support your policy influencing work? Let me know in the comments section below.

Did you have a question about how to influence policy? You might find an answer here…

In this post, I answer some of the questions that you sent me about influencing government policy

Photo by Mark König on Unsplash

A huge thank you to everyone who sent in their questions for me to (try to) answer. I’ve picked out a handful of your questions to answer in this post. I can’t promise to give you the answer to the meaning of life, the universe and everything (which as any Hitchhiker’s fan knows is 42), but I hope that the answers are helpful to you.

If you spot your question in this list, but have a supplementary question that you’d like to ask, feel free to drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ page above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk

What’s the best way to get a policy job?

There are lots of different routes to working in a policy role. Lots of people start off their career working for an MP as a researcher, or in their constituency office. You can check out the fantastic Working for an MP website. Although it’s designed primarily for people working in parliament, it’s full of useful insights on what that involves. It also has a popular job listing too.

I first started working in policy following a stint in local government, which gave me a first-hand insight into the practical challenges of delivering public services, and provided the impetus for me to seek out a charity campaigning role which, over time, grew into a broader policy influencing role.

Some organisations will offer ‘unpaid internships’ as a way of building experience. Personally I really dislike unpaid internships, as they discriminate against those without the financial means to take on unpaid work.

If you’re thinking about a career in influencing policy, take a look at my post about the skills and abilities that a policy officer will need.

The charity I work wants to do more parliamentary work. Where should we start?

It can be a bit bewildering to know where to start. Take a look at my recent blog post which offered some pointers for organisations hoping to build their policy influencing capability.

Government departments are full of people working on policy. How can I hope to influence them?

Even though government departments can be really big, the reality is that the number of people working on any particular policy area is often quite small. There may only be a handful of officials who are responsible for a particular issue within a department of thousands of people. What this means in practical terms is that building relationships with those officials should be your top priority. In an ideal world, you want those officials to see you as a helpful and constructive partner that can help them deliver what they have been tasked to do.

The other thing to remember is that it’s unlikely that the officials will necessarily be experts on the specific issue that you are interested in, whereas you are likely to have particular knowledge or experience that will be helpful to them, if it’s presented in the right way. Make yourself useful, and your voice is more likely to be heard.

Are protests a good way to get government to do something?

The short answer is yes, they can be. The slightly longer answer is that it depends what you’re trying to achieve. If your primary objective is to raise awareness of an issue, then protests can be a good way to get some attention. Similarly, if you’ve tried every other route to get the change that you want to see but aren’t getting anywhere, then more active and visible campaigning can also be a useful tactic. It’s important to pick your tactics for influencing policy carefully. Each situation will be different.

What do you do when you’ve been working with a good minister who gets reshuffled to another department?

It can be really annoying when that happens! You’ve invested time and energy in getting them on side, and before you know it, they’re off to a new role in a completely different government department!

But all is not lost. While you may have built up a good working relationship with the minister, you are also likely to be on the radar of the officials supporting the minister. Those officials will also be responsible for briefing the new incoming minister and, given your constructive working relationship with the previous incumbent, might make positive noises about you and your organisation to the new minister.

Is there a difference between lobbying and influencing?

The word ‘lobbying’ has its origins in the conversations that take place in the division lobbies of the Houses of Parliament, but can be a bit of a marmite term for a lot of people today. In the US, it’s often associated with the power and influence of big business and commercial interests, which is frequently seen as the slightly grubby side of the American system of government. In reality, lobbying is just another form of influencing, and describes the activities of any interest group (whether that might be a union, a charity, a company or a trade association, for example) seeking to influence government policy or legislation. Personally, I prefer the term ‘advocacy’, which I think is a better way to capture the wide range of things beyond the parliamentary process that are involved in seeking to influence policy.

Are there any good training courses that you recommend?

There are lots of courses out there that will help you develop the technical skills needed to be successful in influencing policy. A lot will depend on which gaps in knowledge or experience you’re trying to fill. For example, there are lots of courses offering training on aspects of parliamentary processes (such as how legislation is made). These sorts of courses can be really helpful for anyone who hasn’t worked in parliament before, or who wants to increase their understanding of the parliamentary processes involved. On the other side of the equation, there are also lots of courses offering training on the technical foundations of a particular policy area (such as how the health and care system works, or how education policy is made). The best advice is to ask around for recommendations about courses that your colleagues (either within your organisation or outside) might have been on.

Is now a good time to try to persuade opposition parties to sign up to something?

Yes! And as a general rule, it is always worth reaching out across the political spectrum if you’re trying to achieve long term policy change. For some organisations, such as registered charities, there are regulations in place requiring them to be balanced in their work to influence policy to protect their independence. But for all organisations, it’s important to remember that achieving policy change can sometimes take much longer than the lifespan of any particular government.

In the UK, we’re just under two years away from the very last date that the next General Election can be held, which means that all of the political parties are now turning their attention to the manifesto that they will put to the country. This makes it an ideal moment to try to persuade different parties to commit to your cause, or the change that you are trying to achieve. Don’t forget to tailor your messaging accordingly – what will resonate with one party ideologically could well turn off another.

If you or your organisation are looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Just drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ link above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk

Ask me anything!

Got a question about policy or public affairs? I’d love to answer it!

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

I’m trying something a little different to mark the new year, and giving you the chance to ask me anything about how to influence policy.

You might want to know more about a particular parliamentary process, or how to build relationships with MP’s researchers. You might have questions about how ministers make decisions, or just want know more about what it’s like to work in policy and public affairs.

To submit your questions, you can either send me a message via this website, or you can email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk

Send me your questions by Friday 27^th January, and I’ll answer as many as I can in a post at the end of the month.

I can’t wait to hear your questions!

So, you’ve got a meeting with the minister. How do you get the best out of it?

An opportunity to meet with a Minister is a rare thing indeed, so you need to make the very best of it.

Photo by Michael Fousert on Unsplash

So, your approach to the new ministerial team has worked, and you’ve been invited to meet with the Minister. This is a rare opportunity, and it’s important that you make the very best of it. But how do you go about preparing? And how will you make sure that the meeting helps you to achieve your policy influencing objectives? In this post, I take a look at what ministerial meetings are, how you can prepare for them, some things to think about, and ways to make sure that the meeting is a success.

For the purposes of this post, I’ll be concentrating on one-on-one meetings, rather than broader roundtables or policy forums which you might on occasion be invited to. I’ll return to those in a future post.

Over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of ministerial meetings that I have been invited to for governments of all political colours and complexions. Some have been good, and some have been, well, let’s just say ‘not so good’! What that has given me is a perspective on some of the key things to look out for. While every meeting is going to be different, there are some common themes and principles that apply universally, and that’s what I’ll take a look at in this post.

You can, of course, be invited to a meeting for a variety of different reasons. It might be in direct response to a proactive approach that you have made to the Minister, such as a letter. It might also be because one of your parliamentary champions has gone out of their way to open the door for you by persuading the Minister that you really are someone worth meeting and talking to. You might also be invited to a meeting if the ministerial team think that you might be able to help the government with a particular problem or challenge that they are grappling with. Whatever the reason, it’s really important that you make the very best of the opportunity, and I hope that these tips and tricks will be useful to you.

Tip 1: Preparation is key

Preparing properly for the meeting is absolutely vital. On a practical level, you’ll need to work out who you are going to field for the meeting, and what their roles will be at the meeting. If you’re able to send more than one person, it’s a good idea to have one person who will be your lead, and to be accompanied by someone who might have, for example, the technical and more detailed knowledge that might be needed in the conversation. Do your research about the minister and their background and interests, and think about what their current political priorities might be. And, of course, think carefully about the key messages that you want to land with the minister and their team. A reasonably detailed briefing note for those attending the meeting is usually a good idea.

Tip 2: Try to push for an in-person meeting

In this post-COVID world that we’re all living in, you might find that you are offered a virtual meeting with the minister. If you can, it’s well worth pushing for a face-to-face meeting if it is at all possible. It allows for a more free-flowing and natural conversation, as well as allowing you and the minister to get to know one another better than you can ever do online. If a virtual meeting is the only option available, it’s not the end of the world, but you’ll need to work that bit harder to build a working relationship with the minister and their team.

Tip 3: Plan the meeting with the officials

If you can, it’s a really good idea to reach out to the relevant officials to talk about the content of the meeting. Afterall, they will be preparing a briefing for the minister ahead of the meeting, so if you can agree on the overall shape of the meeting, you’re all going to get a lot more out of it. It’s a good way to outline what you are looking for from the meeting, and to understand what the minister might be looking for too. If you’re not sure which officials will be involved, you can ask the minister’s diary office for advice, as they’ll know who else is going to be attending.

Tip 4: Events might scupper things

When you’re dealing with ministerial diaries, there is a reasonable chance that external events might pull the rug from under your best laid plans. It might be an urgent political issue that government needs to resolve, a question in Parliament that the minister needs to respond to, or other diary pressures that mean that your meeting gets postponed, or worse, cancelled altogether. Don’t be disheartened if that does happen – it happens to everyone at one time or another. The minister’s diary office will probably try to be quite accommodating in finding a new slot. To avoid the risk of making a long trip to Westminster only for the meeting to be cancelled at the last minute, it’s a good idea to check in with the minister’s office the day before the meeting in case they can see any potential problems on the horizon (and to check on the location of the meeting in case it might have changed).

Tip 5: Don’t be late

Ministerial diaries are tightly managed things, so if you are even a few minutes late, it can get you off to a really bad start. Arrive in plenty of time. If you can, it’s a good idea to agree to meet with those you are bringing to the meeting somewhere close by for a final briefing before you all go in to the meeting together.

Tip 6: Come with solutions, not just problems

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, politicians generally get quite irritated by people who just bring problems without any potential solutions. If the meeting is on a particular topic, it’s worth spending time thinking about the politics of that issue, and what you might want the minister, or the wider government, to do. And don’t forget that not all of the solutions are likely to be within the ministers direct control, so think about what the minister could do to encourage action by other bodies and organisations that are not necessarily under direct government control.

Tip 7: Get to the point

In most instances, you’re likely to only have 30 to 45 minutes for the meeting, so you’ll need to make sure that you can get to the meat of the conversation as quickly as possible. Niceties are, of course, important, but if you spend 15 minutes explaining who you are and what you’re trying to achieve, you could well have used half of the time available before you even get to the issue at hand. This is particularly challenging if you’re meeting with the minister as part of a small coalition or collaboration of organisations – everyone might want their 5 minutes in the sun, but time is precious, so you’ll need to be prepared to be quite strict.

Tip 8: Don’t overpromise

It’s really tempting to offer more than you can actually deliver, but this can be really damaging to your relationship with the minister, and to your reputation. Make sure that whatever you offer you can actually deliver. It might be more information, some good data, some other evidence, or your help and support to make something happen.

Tip 9: Follow up with the officials

The minister will almost certainly be accompanied in the meeting by the relevant officials – usually someone from the minister’s private office plus the relevant ministerial policy lead. Ministerial meetings are a great way to open a channel with the officials, if you’ve not already got one, and to strengthen that channel if you do. It’s a perfect reason to follow up with the officials after the meeting to emphasise any points that you want to underline, to provide any further information, and to pick up any other actions that might have arisen from the conversation.

Tip 10: Update your stakeholders

If it goes well, the meeting will have moved your relationship with the minister and the officials forward, so it’s important to update your key stakeholders on the outcomes of the meeting so that they’re aware of what was discussed, what the minister’s priorities are, and what you might have agreed. That’s even more important if your key stakeholders might have their own interaction with ministers and officials.

What would your top tips be for preparing to meet a minister? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Harnessing people’s stories to influence policy

People’s stories can be the most powerful evidence to support your policy influencing work.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash

In previous posts, I have talked about the importance of people’s stories as a tool to influencing government policy. While statistics, facts and figures are an important part of the policy influencing toolbox, it is people’s stories which bring it all to life and make the change that you might be seeking more relatable. Afterall, we are hard-wired as humans to communicate through stories.

Throughout my career, I have created opportunities to give a voice to people who are often not heard in the policy making process. Earlier in my career, I was fortunate to play my part in the very first formal channel for older people’s voices in health policy which had an enormous impact on the decisions that government took. More recently, I have been championing opportunities for harder to hear voices to be heard in the policy process.

A couple of readers have been in touch about how to go about harnessing people’s stories to influence policy, so thought that I would dig a bit deeper. In this post, I take a look at some of the different ways that you can amplify people’s voices to support your policy asks, and explore some of the things to think about.

I don’t claim to be an expert on the vital community development work that needs to take place to give a voice to people’s experiences, so this post is not a ‘how to’ guide on good community development – there are others who are far more expert on that than I am. But what I do know is the positive impact that people’s voices can have on policy development, and I hope that what I share will be useful in helping you to harness, and amplify, those voices.

Tip #1: Surveys can be a useful tool

One of the simplest ways to make sure that your policy work is grounded in people’s experiences and voices is to run a survey. There are a variety of methodologies that can be used to run surveys, and they can be a useful tool to gather both attitudinal feedback (e.g. what do you think about a particular issue?) to something a bit more factual (e.g. what do you estimate the cost of X to be?). If you do use a survey as part of your work, it’s important to think carefully about the sample you will survey, and how generalisable your findings might be.

Tip #2: Focus groups can help you dig deeper

While a survey might give you quite ‘static’ information and insights, focus groups can allow you to dig a bit deeper and to begin to explore, for example, some different policy options. As with surveys, you need to think carefully about where you would draw focus group participants from, and how representative their views might be. Focus groups can be particularly effective as a way to sense-check some ideas or proposals, as it will provide some ‘real-world’ feedback.

Tip #3: Interviews give you rich insight

Investing time and energy in conducting more detailed interviews with people can be a really effective way of getting real depth and insight to support your policy influencing work. It gives you the opportunity to ask further questions, to clarify things, and to listen to the person’s story in their own words. When conducting such interviews, do give thought to how to support and protect the person that you are talking to – especially where you might be talking with them about difficult or challenging issues. Be aware of the impact that such a conversation might have on them, and prepare accordingly.

Tip #4: Co-production can be incredibly effective

Co-production refers to a group of people (normally a mix of people with lived experience and professionals) working together to come up with answers or solutions to problems. It can be an incredibly powerful tool in policy development work, and can lead to policy recommendations which are grounded in the reality of people’s lived experience. I’ll return to the power of co-production in a future post.

Tip #5: Think about harder to hear voices

Providing a platform for what are considered to be harder to hear voices can be incredibly powerful. Those are the stories and experiences that are too often overlooked in the development and implementation of policy. When trying to connect with those voices, it’s a good idea to connect with local groups or organisations who are closer to those particular communities. Very often those groups and organisations will be very small, and often volunteer-run or led. If you work with these groups or organisations, don’t forget to pay them for their time and effort.

Tip #6: Deploying people’s voices to influence policy

Having gathered people’s stories and experiences, there are a number of different ways that you can deploy that evidence to support your policy influencing work. Apart from the obvious things like including quotes and examples in policy documents, briefings, and submissions, I’d encourage you to think creatively about how you can platform people’s voices. For example, seeking opportunities for people to give oral evidence at parliamentary enquiries or all-party parliamentary groups, or encouraging your activists and supporters to go and speak to their local politicians.

Tip #7: Stories help persuade politicians

As I have mentioned in previous posts, it’s important not to underestimate the power of stories to influence politicians. Facts and figures are, of course, very important in making a case for change, but it’s people’s stories that bring an issue to life, making it relatable and understandable on a very human level. Stories are, of course, all the more powerful when you provide a platform for people to tell them in their own words.

Tip #8: Case studies and stories are vital for media

As I covered in a previous post, the media can be a powerful policy influencing tool. One of the things that the media will always be looking for are the case studies and stories to illustrate a story. This is often true for both news and features.

Tip #9: Consent matters

However you are planning to capture people’s stories and experiences to support your policy influencing work, it’s vital that you make sure that you have people’s consent. Whether that is consent to use people’s responses to a survey, consent to use quotes from a focus group or interview in a submission or document, or consent to share their story with the media. It’s essential that people agree to how their story might be used.

Tip #10: Don’t make assumptions

In harnessing people’s voices to influence policy, it’s really important that you go in with an open mind. You won’t know what people will want to say, what experiences they want to share, or how their experiences might shape your policy asks until you get started. Be prepared to flex and adapt, and to be genuinely informed by people’s stories.

What other ways can the voice of people’s lived experience help shape your policy influencing work? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Influencing policy in a recession

The advent of a recession requires a rethink in the tactics that you will use to influence policy

Photo by D koi on Unsplash

When times are tight, you need to adapt your approach to influencing the policy agenda, especially if one of your objectives is to try to increase the amount of funding that the government makes available for a particular issue or service.

In my career to date, I’ve worked through at least two major economic recessions, and have developed some insights in to how anyone involved in influencing government policy needs to tweak and adapt their approach.

With the news this week from the Office for Budget Responsibility that the UK is now at the beginning to what is likely to be a prolonged recession, it’s timely to take a look at how this impacts on the style and tone of policy influencing work. In this post, I’ll take a look at some of the ways that tough economic times will impact on your policy influencing work.

Tip #1: Ignore the context at your peril!

Carrying on with business as usual during an economic crisis really isn’t an option. Your normal policy influencing tactics and channels will need to be tweaked and adapted, and your messages aligned with the wider context.

Tip #2: Be careful with the numbers

With the economy under real and sustained pressure, simply continuing to ask for large sums of government funding is unlikely to be well received. Lots of organisations try to make best campaigning use of the biggest numbers that they can muster (as I discussed in a previous post), but when almost every government department is having to find ‘efficiency savings’ (or, to the lay-person, cuts), continuing to push for big investment simply isn’t going to work in the same way. That doesn’t mean that you can’t seek funding or investment (if that is part of your policy objectives), but you need to be smarter about how you do that.

Tip #3: Think about how your asks can help

In normal times, it’s important to frame your asks in as positive a way as possible, demonstrating how the change that you want to see would actually help the government to deliver on its priorities. This is even more critical during a recession. Everything that the government is likely to think or do will be seen through the lens of the state of the economy. Whether that’s thinking about how to reduce expenditure, or how to stimulate growth. When you’re trying to influence policy during a recession, it’s really important that you think carefully about how your asks can actually support economic recovery. It might take a bit of tangential thinking, but it will definitely pay dividends.

Tip #4: Getting (and keeping) attention is much harder

With an economic squeeze hitting government, businesses and households, it’s not surprising that this is the most pressing issue facing the country. A consequence of this is that it is much harder to get political or media attention for other issues, and much harder to keep that attention if you are fortunate enough to get it. When you are looking for your political or media ‘hook’ for your issue, it’s worth thinking about how you can link it to the impact of the recession. The media, in particular, will always be on the look out for new angles to covering the recession.

Tip #5: Don’t forget how powerful people’s stories can be

MPs and other politicians listen carefully to their constituents and to the wider public mood. Presenting people’s stories about the way in which the recession might be exacerbating existing challenges, or creating wholly new ones, can be a really powerful tool to try and shape the policy agenda during a recession.

What other ways do you think a recession might impact policy influencing work? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

What skills and abilities does a good policy officer need?

A policy officer requires a range of skills and abilities. Whether you’re starting out on a career in policy, or looking to recruit your first policy officer, this post will give you some helpful pointers.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash

In this post, I’m going to explore what I see as some of the critical skills and abilities that a good policy officer needs.

There are, of course, a variety of positions that might have a role in influencing policy. For the purposes of this post, I have decided to focus in on the policy officer role, which is often the entry point for people starting out on a career in influencing policy, and also where most organisations looking to grow their capacity to influence policy will start.

Many of the skills needed for a good policy officer can also be acquired and developed in post. Throughout my career, it has been extremely satisfying to see people grow in to such roles and develop their careers. It’s always sad to say goodbye to them when it’s time for them to move on to bigger and better things.

When you’re recruiting a policy officer, it’s also important to remember that you don’t necessarily need to recruit someone with subject matter expertise. The essence of what makes a good policy officer (or the foundation for someone with the potential to become a good policy officer) are their policy skills, rather than their subject matter knowledge. For someone with the right skills or potential, getting to grips with a new policy area is, in many ways, the easy bit. Just like the way that civil servants move from department to department, the same is true for someone entering a new field or sector.

Job descriptions often include slightly cryptic references to skills and competencies that are needed for policy roles. In this post, I’ll try to illustrate what some of those are actually about. So whether you’re looking to recruit your first policy officer, or you’re someone thinking about a career in policy, here are my top ten skills and abilities that a good policy officer needs.

#1: Analytical skills

Policy work is, by its very definition, based on analysis. A good policy officer needs to have the ability to absorb and interpret complex information from a wide variety of sources, and be able to identify both potential problems and solutions. Whether that is analysing evidence and data, legislation, or stakeholder feedback, analytical skills are the most important skill requirement for every role that plays a part in influencing policy.

#2: Communication skills

‘Good communication skills’ is one of the most widely used (and ill-defined) phrases in most job descriptions. A good policy officer will need to have top-rate writing skills. They will be writing consultation responses, parliamentary briefings and think pieces, and will need to be able to communicate complex messages not just clearly and succinctly, but persuasively too. They will also need to be able to produce analysis that is easy to understand and accessible for non-technical audiences. But it’s not just about written communication. They’ll need to be able to explain complex issues verbally too – whether that’s briefing a parliamentarian, or helping stakeholders understand policy change. And social media is becoming more and more important as a communication channel for policy influencing too.

#3: Interpersonal skills

A good policy officer needs to be comfortable interacting with a variety of people. Whether that’s the ability to brief officials and politicians, to network and build alliances with other stakeholders, or the confidence to ‘pester’ people or to speak out in meetings. It can be quite daunting to be sitting in a policy working group (frequently with people who are far more expert on the matter at hand) and feel able to raise an issue or challenge something. Confidence, of course, in part comes with experience, but the foundation of great interpersonal skills is an essential building block for a good policy officer.

#4: Research skills

Although closely related to having good analytical skills, a good policy officer also needs a good foundation in research skills. Both in the interpretation and use of research, but also in undertaking research to support their policy development work. For example, that might involve capturing people’s stories and experiences to evidence their arguments, or undertaking (or commissioning) a piece of research to fill a gap in knowledge.

#5: Public affairs skills

There are broadly two schools of thought when it comes to the policy and public affairs interface. There are those organisations that choose to separate them out with separate policy and public affairs roles. And then there are those that combine them in a more integrated way. My personal view is that the integrated approach is the way to go. It makes sense to me that someone analysing policy and generating ideas for change should also understand some of the ways in which that change can be achieved using parliamentary and public affairs routes, such as parliamentary debates, or All-Party Parliamentary Groups, for example.

#6: Political astuteness

A good policy officer not only needs to be able to analyse and interpret policy, they also need to have a degree of political astuteness to know which policy influencing objectives and aims are politically achievable. They’ll need to understand party political differences, and the impact that events and context can have on politics and policy making. They’ll also need to be able to take a long view, horizon scanning, spotting issues and opportunities proactively.

#7: A tactical approach

It’s very easy to make a lot of noise about an issue, but noise doesn’t necessarily equate to influence. A good policy officer should be able to advise on the best tactics to deploy for the maximum impact. Whether that is public campaigning engaging stakeholders and supporters, or behind-the-scenes influencing, being able to pick the right tactics on a case-by-case basis is an essential skill. I’ll return to the question of visibility versus effectiveness in a future post.

#8: Problem solving

Influencing policy is all about solving problems, so good problem-solving skills are an essential attribute of a good policy officer. This means being able to look at problems from different angles, thinking creatively about potential solutions and testing those to come up with the best possible solution.

#9: Project management

A policy officer is likely to be juggling a number of different policy influencing projects. They might be getting stakeholder input on one topic, while simultaneously responding to a consultation on another, and briefing parliamentarians on a bill. Good time management, and good project management skills, are going to be really important.

#10: A focus on outcomes

One of the competencies that I think is really important for a good policy officer is being able to remain focused on outcomes. What I mean by that is being able to take the longer term view and consider the impact that a particular policy change path could deliver. Influencing the content of a piece of government guidance, or even the content of a parliamentary bill is one thing, but how will we know that such changes will deliver the outcomes that you’re seeking? In other words, achieving policy change itself is not the end of the process, and a good policy officer will understand the cycle of policy development and implementation.

What do you think are the essential skills and abilities that a policy officer needs? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.

If you or your organisation are looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some pro bono advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Just drop me a line via the ‘Contact’ link above, or email me at hello@thepolicycoach.co.uk

Using the media as a policy influencing tool

We’ve all seen how the policy agenda can be forced to follow the media agenda. The media can be a powerful policy influencing tool

The media can be a powerful policy influencing tool. We’ve all seen the extent to which the political and policy narrative can be forced to follow an agenda set by the media (and vice versa, of course).

Anyone who has studied, or who is currently studying, public policy will be very aware of the power and role of the media as a policy actor in its own right. But that theory often has little to say on some of the practical ways in which you can use the media as a policy influencing tool.

Using the media in this way is not always going to be the best strategy. There are definitely times when the more quiet, behind-the-scenes tactics will be more fruitful. But on occasion, using the media can, for example, help to unblock particularly difficult issues, force the hand of policy makers, or change the narrative entirely.

In this post, I take a look at how valuable the media can be as a policy influencing tool, and offer some tips and tricks based on my experience. When writing this post, I have in mind what you can describe as the ‘traditional’ media. I’ll return to the power of social media as a policy influencing tool in a future post.

Tip 1: Work with the experts

If you are fortunate enough to work in an organisation that has media or communications capacity, get their advice and support in using the media to support your policy influencing work. Media relations and communications more widely is a highly specialist skill, and they will have a huge amount to offer to make sure that you are successful as possible.

Tip 2: Boil complex issues down to their very essence

As policy and public affairs professionals, we have an innate tendency to want to explore complex issues from all angles. This can sometimes mean that we find it difficult to distil such complexity down. However complicated the issue might be, you’re going to need to be able to describe it in just a few well-chosen words. Think of it in terms of summarising a 20 page piece of policy analysis down to a single sentence, and you will get the idea. Your media or communications colleagues will help (and challenge you!) with this. It can be a bit of an uncomfortable process on occasion. Which leads on to tip three.

Tip 3: Be clear on what needs to change

In all policy influencing work, it’s vital to be clear about what it is that needs to change. For example, what it is that you need government to do (or not to do), or who it is in the system that needs to do something differently (as discussed in a previous post). This is also true when deploying the media as an influencing tool.

Tip 4: Have something new to say and some new evidence

If you’re trying to get your issue in to the news agenda, then you’re going to need to have something new to say. That might be a new report, some new statistics, or a unique angle. Being clear about the policy outcomes that you are hoping to achieve will help you structure something that is fresh and unique which is much more likely to be picked up. You can also use some of your other policy influencing activities as a hook for media work – such as a forthcoming debate in Parliament, or on the back of the publication of a report by an All-Party Parliamentary Group, for instance.

Tip 5: Use case studies

As I have discussed previously, you should never underestimate the power of a good case study. This is also the case when using the media as a policy influencing tool. Case studies, particularly those that bring a human dimension to an issue, are critical for the media.

Tip 6: Integrate it with other influencing tactics

It’s a really good idea to link any media work on a policy issue with other policy influencing tactics. For example, you might want to follow up with a letter to a Minister, or think about how to connect and engage with parliamentarians. I was once trying to persuade policy decision makers to support a particular piece of work that we wanted to do, but were coming up against something of a brick wall. A well-placed piece on the front page of one of the most influential broadsheets (as much by luck as design) unsurprisingly resulted in a face to face meeting with the key decision maker which got us where we needed to be.

Tip 7: Recognise the risk

There is, of course, no way of knowing how the issue that you are raising might ultimately be framed or how any quote might be used. You will rely on the skill and expertise of your media and communications colleagues on this, but ultimately it’s beyond anyone’s direct control. This is important to recognise. I recall one example of this when we were engaged in particularly sensitive negotiations with the government which had reached a critical point. It was that moment that a newspaper that we had been talking to informally about the issue decided to run a story using an old quote from me which had the potential to cut right across those negotiations. It required some late-night contact with the Minister’s private office to calm potentially troubled waters. I can assure you that was quite a restless night!

Tip 8: Think about the outlet you’re talking to

How your issue might be framed in a piece will vary according to the world view of the outlet that you are talking to. The Spectator or The Telegraph will frame things quite differently to The Guardian or The Independent. It much the same way that framing your policy influencing agenda needs to take in to account the different perspectives of political parties, the same is true when using the media as an influencing tool. Think carefully about how to frame your message.

I would add at this point that you should also not disregard tabloids. Journalists working on tabloids are among the sharpest in the business – it takes enormous skill to be able to take difficult and complex issues and present them in a very accessible way for their readership.

Tip 9: Don’t underestimate the power of the informal chat

Informal conversations with journalists are incredibly important. Not only does it allow you to get a feel for their appetite and interest in an issue, it also gives you an insight in to the angle that they are likely to take. Importantly, it also allows you to describe some of the background and inevitable complexity to an issue.

Tip 10: Listen to the experts

For the final tip, I return to where I started this list – largely to emphasise just how important it is. Listen to your media and communications colleagues – they are the experts in how best to work with the media, and will be best placed to help guide you.

What is your experience of using the media as a policy influencing tool? If you work in media or communications, what would your advice be to those seeking to influence policy?

Dipping your toe in the water – making a start in the policy influencing space

As an organisation wanting to develop its policy influencing work, where do you start?

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One of the most common questions for any organisation wanting to influence the policy agenda is how on earth do you make a start?

For smaller organisations in particular, it can be quite daunting. Resources are often tight, and there may not be specialist staff capacity to dedicate to the emergent influencing work.

This post is primarily directed at those organisations wanting to do more to influence the policy agenda, but not knowing quite where to start.

Influencing policy, and more importantly knowing the tactics that will be successful, rather than just visible (a topic for a future post), is a highly skilled function in any organisation. Afterall, commercial organisations pay many hundreds of thousands of pounds to ‘expert advisors’ to guide them.

But not every organisation needs to be spending huge sums of money recruiting policy influencing specialists – far from it. Your organisation may not be at the size or scale to realistically expect to need an in-house resource. But that doesn’t mean that your organisation, however small or local, doesn’t have a great deal to offer in the policy development process.

Here are my top tips for organisations keen to enter the policy influencing space, but not quite knowing where to start.

Tip 1: Set realistic ambitions

It’s so important to set realistic ambitions, and to walk before you run. If you’re starting from scratch, you’re unlikely to be out there shaping legislation, publishing policy research, or working with parliamentarians if the only capacity you have is 10% of somebody’s time on top of their (probably very busy) day job. Which leads me on to tip two.

Tip 2: Start small

There are lots of things that you can start to do that will be manageable and achievable, and that will help to build your confidence and experience in influencing policy. Writing letters to ministers and officials on topical issues that are important to your organisation, for example, can be a surprisingly effective way to start in the policy influencing space without huge investment of time or capacity.

Tip 3: Work with others

In a previous post, I talked about how important it is to work with others to influence the policy agenda. This holds true for all organisations seeking to shape the policy agenda, but perhaps even more so for those organisations who are just starting out on their influencing journey. You will know the other organisations who operate in a similar space to you, and probably already have good relationships with them. It’s a great idea to work with them to explore some opportunities for joint influencing work. You might, for example, work together to produce a joint briefing or report, or to host a briefing event for MPs. Working together can help share the workload and help you achieve much more than you could on your own.

Tip 4: You don’t necessarily need to recruit an in-house specialist

There can sometimes be a sense that the first thing that an organisation needs to do to move into the policy influencing space is to recruit an in-house specialist, such as a policy or public affairs officer. If you have the capacity and resources to do so, that is obviously a great thing to be able to do, although the point above still applies that you need to be clear about what your ambitions are. (In a future post, I’ll be taking a look at the skills and competencies that you should be looking out for when recruiting a policy specialist).

But there are lots of different ways that you can build and grow your capacity in policy influencing that don’t start with recruiting to a brand new role. For example, if your ambition is to do more parliamentary work, then a conversation with one of the many public affairs agencies could be a good option – whether you’re looking for one-off support for a specific piece of work (such as an engagement event with parliamentarians), or something a little longer term (such as helping to support an All-Party Parliamentary Group), they will have a range of options available to organisations of different shapes and sizes (and budgets).

Alternatively, you could look to partner with other organisations who are active in your space to pool some resources. That might allow you to do some specific activities or work, or even allow you to have a shared policy influencing role (this works particularly well at a local or regional level).

Tip 5: Aim for some early wins

When your organisation is starting out on its policy influencing journey, it’s going to be important to be able to demonstrate some early wins. This will not only boost your confidence but will also make it easier to make a future business case for investment to be able to go even further. This is where starting small, and having some clear objectives, is vital.

If your organisation is looking to do more policy influencing work, and would like some pro bono advice, I’d be happy to have a chat. Get in touch via the comments box below.