Public affairs and communications management

We are organising a breakfast roundtable discussion, "The Reinvigoration of Whitehall?" The meeting, which is free to attend and by invitation only, is an essential opportunity for senior policymakers and communications professionals to share ideas on the role of the civil service after the general election and how this impacts public affairs and communications strategies.

We are delighted that experts in government Lord Armstrong (former head of the Home Civil Service) and Simon Parker (Fellow, Institute for Government and author of the recent report, Shaping up: A Whitehall for the future), will be joining us to give brief presentations to inform discussion. The event will involve up to twenty-five senior representatives from leading private and voluntary organisations that work closely with government.

It is a time of significant change in Whitehall. Recent reports have explored how government will work after the next election: many believe that the civil service faces a pivotal moment with the twin challenges of a large deficit and increasing demands for public service improvement. Does this mean Whitehall will become more focused on general policy priorities rather than their detailed implementation?

The next election is set to have the closest result for many years. With trust in politics and politicians at an all time low, many current and former senior civil servants believe it is time for Whitehall to reassert itself in a new role. This role will be crucial to the future of public service delivery as, regardless of which party wins power, it is the civil service that will implement manifesto pledges.

A detailed understanding of how the civil service might change is therefore crucial for those seeking to work with government. Many new administrations have found grand schemes stifled or even cancelled when they come into contact with the existing bureaucracy. Indeed, a government with a very narrow parliamentary majority may find it lacks the political capital to drive change through a reinvigorated civil service.

Westminster Advisers, a public affairs and communications management consultancy, is organising this breakfast discussion to examine these issues, their impact and the implications for organisations that engage with government. This is the first of two discussion roundtables- the second will follow the election to explore the new political landscape and what lessons organisations working with government can learn from the changes.

Specific areas for discussion and learning at the roundtable include:

• How should Whitehall respond to current pressures and what should its role be beyond the next election?
• What impact will the changing face of parliament have on those seeking to engage with a resurgent bureaucracy?
• What are the key factors that will drive change in Whitehall and what are the barriers to these changes?
• How can those communicating with Whitehall best engage with it after the next election?