Case Studies

This work helped to secure a significant national policy win: government confirmation that allergy information will be included in the new NHS Single Patient Record. This marks a major milestone in the Charity’s longstanding calls for accurate allergy information to be consistently recorded and accessible across the health system to save lives and improve patient care.

Starting from a position of limited engagement with policymakers, we designed and delivered a targeted public affairs programme aligned closely with the Government’s wider NHS reform agenda. This included a coordinated programme of parliamentary engagement and high-profile events bringing together MPs, Peers and sector leaders, including securing the Public Health Minister as a speaker.

Throughout, we translated complex and technical policy proposals into clear, politically relevant priorities aligned with the Government’s health agenda, securing confirmation from successive ministers that these recommendations supported its ambitions.

This approach built strong cross-party backing for Allergy UK’s recommendations, with parliamentarians increasingly referencing its work in debates, tabling parliamentary questions and raising its proposals directly with ministers. We also secured direct engagement with senior officials, ensuring the charity’s recommendations were actively considered as part of ongoing NHS reform planning.

Today, Allergy UK is recognised across Parliament and government as a leading authority on allergy care and is proactively engaged by ministers, officials and sector stakeholders. Its evidence and policy solutions are helping to shape national policy and drive forward discussions on allergy care reform.

This was their first time engaging in public affairs. We secured a meeting with the Prime Minister’s Policy Adviser at No.10 and organised a call with the Environment Minister. Over the course of just a few months there was a notable shift in the language coming from government and it published a series of pragmatic proposals which were all in line with Harrogate Spring Water’s position.

We organised for a group of Treasury and Defra officials to visit a recycling facility and the departments took into account the concerns raised in their future policymaking.

It is now regularly consulted on all issues related to the sector and has frequent meetings with Ministers, Shadow Ministers, MPs, Peers and officials, as well as Special Advisers in DLUHC, the Treasury and No.10. It has secured changes to legislation and is contacted pro-actively by departments for its input to new policy development, with them often taking on board many of its suggestions.

We have worked with the NRLA to link its public affairs activity to its media strategy and it gets regular publicity for its work.

We have worked with the Company to promote the model to national and local politicians and encourage its inclusion in new housing developments. This has supported the roll out of Rentplus schemes across the country.

The Company has gone from a position of no political awareness at all to gaining significant levels of cross-party support including from recent Housing Ministers who have praised the model. We have secured meetings with the Special Advisers at No.10 and Rentplus was on the agenda of a meeting of MPs discussing housing with the then Prime Minister.

We supported the Company to raise its profile through submitting detailed policy submissions, securing meetings with key MPs, MSPs and officials and organising Parliamentary roundtables. Having established its credibility as a major player in this sector, it was invited to give oral evidence to a select committee inquiry and is now recognised as a leading voice on digital skills as well as for its work in supporting women in tech.

It is regularly invited to join Government skills policy working groups including at No.10. Its work has been highlighted as an example of best practice in both UK and Scottish Government policy documents.