UK In-House Team of the Year (J)

WINNER Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan’s public affairs team of three had an eye-catchingly successful 2008, with two major campaigning victories that will significantly improve the lives of people affected by cancer.

The charity was delighted when Gordon Brown announced plans in September to abolish prescription charges for 150,000 cancer patients. The Department of Health said it was Macmillan’s high-profile campaign that persuaded them to act immediately. Other long-term conditions will have to wait for the outcome of a review later in the year.

The charity also played a leading role in the debate on ‘top-up fees’ for drugs, persuading Ministers that more treatments could be made available within the NHS through system reforms.

The charity also ran a successful campaign to highlight the inconsistency of access to drugs, which led the Government to produce better guidelines for making local funding decisions. As a consequence, far more cancer patients will be able to access cancer treatments quickly and freely within the NHS.

Both triumphs reflected the successful integration of the Cancerbackup and Macmillan public affairs teams following the merger of the two charities in April 2008.

The newly integrated team also looked to work more effectively with other Macmillan teams. It worked with regional teams on the prescription charges campaign to target Ministers in their constituencies, and with the fundraising team to pilot the use of campaigning messages at fundraising events.

The final quarter of 2008 saw the charity launch a campaign to combat ‘fuel poverty’. According to NFP Synergy, within four months, two-thirds of all MPs had done something to support the campaign.

The PA team also provides the secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Cancer, which continues to be one of the most influential APPGs.

Throughout the year managers have provided the team with regular opportunities for greater responsibility and personal development, leading to one well deserved promotion. Of particular note was successful job-swap between the charity’s public affairs assistant and an MP’s researcher.

In all, 2008 was a fantastic year that far exceeded the charity’s expectations.

Cancer Research UK

Cancer is a political issue: Cancer Research UK has a duty to patients and researchers to keep cancer high on the agenda. Its in-house team of 17 policy, campaigning and public affairs professionals works with the charity’s 3,000 scientists, three million supporters and the public to help influence cancer policies. Influencing public policy is now recognised as fundamental to Cancer Research UK’s charitable goals, alongside research and information provision.

In 2008 alone, the charity achieved numerous goals as it worked with government, NICE and others to increase access to cancer drugs, boosting the number of patients accessing new treatments and speeding up the assessment process.

Cancer Research UK encouraged more than 10,000 campaigners to email politicians about local screening provision, providing information for detailed reports. Emails convinced the Welsh Health Minister to reveal full details of bowel screening rollout.

The charity lobbied with other charities on Gift Aid, resulting in transitional relief for charities, saving the charity around £10m over three years.

It worked with Ken Macintosh MSP on sunbed regulation in Scotland - under-18s are now prohibited from using commercial sunbeds; unsupervised salons are outlawed; and all salons must display accurate health information.

The charity lobbied in partnership to protect children from tobacco marketing. 10,000 supporters responded to a consultation. More than 50,000 campaigners signed a petition to the Department of Health. Proposals to ban point-of-sale displays and vending machines were outlined in December.

It also supported Lord Faulkner’s amendment to the Criminal Justice & Immigration Bill and received a ministerial commitment for reports to Parliament on the effectiveness of new orders to tackle underage tobacco sales.

It also led the Unclaimed Assets Charity Coalition and lobbied on the new Dormant Bank and Building Society legislation.

Cancer Research UK has also been racking up the awards: it was voted ‘Best Healthcare Charity’ by MPs and Peers in an awards ceremony organised by ComRes and achieved 80 per cent MP approval ratings.

The charity also organised five cross-party politician lab visits, showcasing research institutes across Britain. It trained more than 50 cancer patients, carers and researchers to meet politicians face-to-face.

It gave all staff the opportunity to develop new skills and gain experience through ‘Personal Development Plans’ and team training budgets. Internal promotion has led to the appointment of all senior members of staff.

Local Government Association

Local-government stories in the past year have dominated the media headlines, for example Icelandic banks, ‘Baby P’ and council tax. It has been more important than ever, the, for the LGA to demonstrate to parliamentarians and others, on behalf of its members, the valuable work undertaken by councils.

The LGA has a public affairs team of six, covering the range of local government issues, acting as the bridge between the LGA political groups and policy teams to achieve our corporate objectives.

Among its campaigning successes was the defeat of proposals in the Policing Green Paper for elected policing representatives before it reached the bill stage.

The LGA succeeded in putting councils at the heart of a community energy scheme, providing insulation funded by energy companies.

The LGA also continued to challenge the Government's approach to eco-towns, to ensure that all existing eco-town schemes are led locally and not imposed upon communities by central government.

Its legislative successes have included winning for council tenants the same protection as people living in Housing Association properties through the Housing and Regeneration Act. On the Local Transport Act, the LGA won a number of concessions on Quality Contracts, Quality Partnerships and Integrated Transport Authorities, essentially giving more freedoms to councils over their local bus services.

The LGA has achieved 247 mentions in Hansard in the past year, and a number of select committee appearances. Its briefings have become trusted sources of reliable information by parliamentarians. For example, Richard Younger-Ross MP said in a Westminster Hall debate on Care Homes on 17 March: "I particularly thank the Local Government Association, which provided the most extensive brief for the debate, for its work on the matter."

Separately, in a Westminster Hall debate on 25 February, Mike Hancock MP said: “I was interested to read the brief that the Local Government Association supplied for this debate…on this issue the LGA has a purposeful campaign and a solid position, which I, for one, welcome. I hope that the government are listening to those at the sharp end of delivering decent homes for people to live in.”