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Lobbying a positive route to influence for third sector

Finance | Celina Ribeiro | 22 Jul 2008

Parliament is increasingly open to lobbying from external parties, including third sector organisations, according to a new report.

Hansard Society’s Law in the Making found that while there is increasing cynicism about whether lobbyists have any power to influence the path of legislation through Parliament, input from groups and individuals outside Parliament can have an impact on the end-look of the bill.

“The legislative process has become more open to external actors, although studies are divided about the extent to which they actually influence legislation,” the report noted.

“Exchanges between external actors, Parliament and government can make a real difference and are a vital part of the democratic process.”

The increasing amount and complexity of legislation, coupled with pressures on parliamentarians’ time and resources, remained obstacles to the widening of access by external groups, like charities, to Parliament. 

Generally, the report found opposition members to be more welcoming of external lobbyists while government backbenchers were highlighted as a potentially valuable source of support in Whitehall.

Not all bills are equal

Not all bills, however, are created equal. The report reviewed the passage of five recent bills from their beginnings through to Royal Assent.

The Equality Act 2006, which involved intense lobbying from third sector organisations, was praised as an exercise in open government.

Gay Moon, formerly of the human rights lobby group Justice, said: “It was an exceptional Bill in that it was more open to change and amendment and discussion than almost any other I can think of at that time.”

In contrast, the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 attracted less input from lobby groups due to the complexity of the bill and the higher level of discretion enjoyed by government in the field of immigration, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Justice told Charity News Alert that the influence of a NGO or lobby group will rise and fall in accordance with the extent to which the concerns of the group align with the policies of the party in Parliament.

Other groups reported to the Hansard Society that the level of access granted to lobbyists varied from department to department. 

While the report was generally positive about the accessibility of parliamentarians to lobbyists, and their ability to impact on the legislative process, it made some recommendations.

The Hansard Society called for a more straight forward government consultation process and improvements in pre-legislative scrutiny and the committee stage of the bill production.

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