Influencing law and policy webinar series

BOOKING OPENS UNTIL FRIDAY 8 NOVEMBER NOON

PLEASE NOTE: The ticket price is to gain access to the whole event and all webinars. You cannot book the webinars separately.

All webinars are recorded for post event access for delegates.

Does your voluntary or community sector organisation need to influence law and policy?

With a new government in place, we explore how you can ensure your voice is heard, your opinions and evidence are considered, and any calls to action are taken seriously and have a higher chance of being acted on by the right people.

You can find Martin Rowson’s illustration for this series in full here.

Who is this for

• Community activists, campaigners and user-led organisations 
• Charities and NGOs 
• Policy researchers and advisors 
• Anyone involved in influencing and campaigning with a legal dimension 

What will you gain

• Tools to influence law and policy and access policymaking processes within various public bodies
• Better strategies for activists and campaigners working in partnerships or with limited budgets
• How to gather relevant political intelligence and develop strategies to influence the new administration

Ticket pricing 

• Standard ticket: £99 – for organisations with a turnover more than £400,000 
• Low-cost tickets: £75 – for organisations with funding up to £400,000 (or thereabouts) 
• Contributory ticket: £30 – for organisations with funding less than £100,00
• Student ticket: £20 – for those in full-time education and booking using a valid university email address 
• Free ticket: If you have no training budget or are applying independently and can’t pay.
  *Please note that PLP is a charity and relies on income from events as part of its finance, so please do pay the contributory ticket if you can.*  For a free ticket please e-mail a brief justification to [email protected].

For Legal Education Foundation (LEF) grantees
LEF have kindly offered some funds to subsidise LEF grantees to attend this series. PLP will administer this on a first come first serve basis, limited to one delegate per organisation, at least initially. If you wish to access this, please email Nicole at [email protected].

Programme

Tuesday 12 November

Influencing Parliament and legislation

10:00-12:00

A guide to the UK parliament and how to work with MPs via parliamentary questions, debates and Private Members’ Bills. This also includes an in-depth walk-through of the different stages involved in passing legislation and how to influence using research, campaigns, and Private Members’ bills. We will also look at using legal challenges as a last resort.   

• Chair: Jo Hynes, Public Law Project
• Mary Atkinson, The Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
• Lord David Anderson, Brick Court Chambers
• Helen Ross, Principle
• Adam Freedman, National Aids Trust

Influencing and working with government departments

14:00-16:00

This session will look at ways to engage and collaborate with different government departments, such as The DWP and the Ministry of Justice, and how the government uses research. The panel will also look at how those with lived experience can influence policy. 

• Chair: Shannon Johnstone, Expert Link 
• Natalie Byrom, University College London
• Ellie Cumbo, former Special Adviser to the Lord Chancellor
• Emma Norris, Institute for Government
• Hugo Forshaw, The Law Society
  

Wednesday 13 November

Developing strategies for influencing, messaging and gathering intel

10:00-12:00

This session will look into the policy priorities of the new government, what does it look like to influence a party in power and not in opposition, how to develop a strategy for engagement and how do we align our messaging with the strategy. 

• Chair: Bessie Yuill, Public Law Project
• Lucy Nash, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism
• Ruth Ehrlich, Liberty 
• Alba Kapoor, Runnymede Trust 
• Niall Couper, Public Law Project

Influencing local government

14:00-16:00

This session looks at how to influence local government and mayoralties, with a focus on working with the local community and user-led groups.  We’ll also look at mobilising local communities, through community-led campaigns, grass-root research, co production and where appropriate giving expert legal support. 

• Chair: Emma Bates, Central England Law Centre
• Helen Flynn, Just Fair 
• Kari Gerstheimer, Access Social Care
• Councillor Dr Hosnieh Djafari-Marbini, Oxford City Councillor  
• Mike Hyden, Homelessness Best Practice C.I.C 

Thursday 14 November

Workshop 10:00-12:00

Delegates will be asked when booking: ‘What do you want to change?’, to help our workshop leaders plan the most practically useful workshop. Please try and keep your suggestions short and focused on specifics to help us plan the workshop to address as many people’s needs or interests as possible. 

How does a small organisation start to think about a public affairs strategy? How do they gain contacts in parliament and meet with, and gain the trust of, MPs? This hands-on workshop is aimed at user-led and smaller organisations signed up to the programme, with the programme step-by-step guidance and practical advice on how to develop a powerful communication strategy and influence for change.

• Lee Marson, Public Law Project
• Mike Hyden, Homelessness Best Practice C.I.C
• Idel Hanley, Medical Justice
• Griff Ferris, UNJUST C.I.C

Full illustration: