LOCAL LOBBYING TOOLKIT

A guide for suppliers looking to engage with a

Member of Parliament
Prepared for Communication Matters
by the Whitehouse Consultancy

February 2012

Contents
Introduction and Purpose.......................................................................................................... 3
Approaching your local MP A step-by-step guide........................................................................3
Checklist................................................................................................................................. 6
Frequently Asked Questions...................................................................................................... 7
Annex I Draft letter to Local MP............................................................................................... 8
Annex II Draft letter for MP to send to Health Minister...............................................................10

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Introduction and Purpose

Introduction
The purpose of this toolkit is to help your company engage with the local Member of
Parliament (MP). Communication Matters strongly encourages suppliers of AAC aids to
develop good relations with MPs in their region to support our campaign to improve services
and provision of equipment for anyone who finds communication difficult because they have
little or no clear speech.
Given the uncertainty created by the Governments reforms to the NHS, Communication
Matters would specifically like to receive clarification on the future commissioning
arrangements for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) services and
communication aids. Considering that around 0.5% of the UK population may need AAC at
some point in their lives (approx. 260,000 children and adults) there is a good chance that
this issue will directly impact on the MPs constituents so they should be willing to meet to
discuss further.
Growth is the Coalition Government's highest priority for 2012 and they are specifically
looking at ways to retain the high-tech jobs which provide this growth. Given the number of
high-tech jobs provided by the AAC industry (and its export market) it will be crucial for you
to emphasise the importance of AAC to the British economy during your correspondence
with MPs. It will also be worth making the point that uncertainty in the commissioning
arrangements and its knock on effect for the industry could have a very negative impact on
this very specialist high-tech sector.
This toolkit gives all the information you need to organise a meeting with MPs and then
undertake follow up activity. We would be most grateful if you could keep us informed of any
actions you undertake to help inform our campaigning in Westminster.

Approaching your local MP A step-by-step guide

Background
MPs will always be keen to meet businesses based in their constituency. This toolkit has
been put together to assist you, and our partnership with The Whitehouse Consultancy
should help with any capacity issues you may be experiencing. This toolkit aims to give you
all the guidance you need to arrange a meeting and make sure it goes smoothly.
Find out who your MP is
There are 650 MPs in the country and they all represent a geographical area known as a
constituency. MPs are elected to represent the interests of the people who live in their
constituency to Parliament. Once he or she is elected, an MP is expected to help anyone
who comes to them for assistance, not just members of their own party or the people who

voted for them. The names of MPs constituencies are closely tied to the name of the area or
town they represent.
You can find out who your local MP is by going to the Write to Them website at
www.writetothem.com and entering your postcode. This will help you find the local MP and
give other information about other politicians representing your community such as the local
Councillors, Members of the European Parliament, and Members of the Scottish Parliament
or Welsh Assembly where appropriate.
If the Write to Them website does not work, then you can also find out who the local MP is
by typing your organisations postcode into a similar website, www.theyworkforyou.com. The
Houses of Parliament website also has a Constituency Locata which works in a similar way,
and can be found at http://findyourmp.parliament.uk. Note there is no www in front of this
address. Alternatively, you can contact the House of Commons Information Office on 020
7219 4272. They will ask you for a postcode and can tell you who the right MP is, although
be aware they may then try to put you straight through to the MPs office.
If you have any problems or are unsure about how to find out who your MP is, then Gary
Jones at The Whitehouse Consultancy will be happy to answer any questions and you can
call him on 020 7463 0697 or by email at gary.jones@whitehouseconsulting.co.uk.
Send out a meeting request
We suggest that in the first instance, you should write to the MP rather than call him or her.
This is important as it gives something formal that the MP can look at before deciding
whether to accept the invitation, and it creates a formal record of the invitation to meet. You
should keep your letter to the MP short, and certainly no more than one page. Your address
should be displayed prominently and you should make reference to the fact that the
organisation is based in the MPs constituency. This is because MPs get a lot of
correspondence and they will prioritise things that will affect their constituents.
The letter should not go into too much detail at this stage, but simply introduce the
organisation and make sure you state that you are requesting a meeting. Make sure your
letter includes a named person with a contact number so the MPs office knows how to get in
touch with you.
The address to send your letter for all MPs is: House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA.
Make sure your write the MPs name clearly on the envelope.
We have included a draft letter at the end of this toolkit which you may wish to use as a
template when writing to your MP.
Chase up the invitation
Once he has received the letter, the MP will usually write back to you asking you to contact
his/her office by telephone to arrange a suitable time, or the MPs office may call to make the
arrangements. However, there are some occasions when an MP will not reply to a letter that
is sent. It is rare that an MP will deliberately ignore correspondence, but they do get a large

volume of letters each day sometimes as many as several hundred and are often
deluged with requests and demands. If you dont get a reply, it may simply be that the letter
has been overlooked, lost, or the MPs office has forgotten to pass it on.
A good length of time to wait for a reply is two to three weeks. If you havent heard back
after this time, then you should call the MPs office to chase it up. Note that it is best to
avoid trying to call on a Friday, since MPs usually work out of their constituencies on that day
and many leave their Westminster offices unstaffed one day a week. To find out your MPs
telephone number, you can call the House of Commons switchboard on 020 7219 3000.
There is no official, publicly available directory of MPs telephone numbers, but most MPs
have a website which you can find by typing their name into www.google.co.uk, and these
usually provide a contact number.
Note that when calling your MP, it would be helpful to have some dates in mind when you
would like the meeting to take place. When Parliament is sitting, MPs are usually based in
Westminster from Monday to Thursday, so it will not be possible for them to attend during
this time, unless you live in central London. This means that most constituency activity will
have to take place on a Friday, Saturday or (more rarely) on a Sunday.
Parliament goes on recess several times during the year, including for two months over
August and September, as well as the Easter and Christmas holidays. During this time, no
work goes on in Parliament and MPs work from their constituencies. It should therefore be
easier to arrange a meeting during this time. You can find out when Parliament is in recess
on the House of Commons website at www.parliament.uk/about/faqs/house-of-commonsfaqs/business-faq-page/recess-dates/.
Once you have a date in the diary, you should phone to confirm the arrangements a few
days before the meeting. Sometimes MPs staff can forget to put things in their diary.
Reminding them of this is a good way of making sure that they will actually turn up and not
leave you waiting.
Structure of the meeting
We suggest that your MPs meeting take the following structure:Introduction

Discussion about
public policy
issues of most
relevance

Introduce yourself thank him or her for taking the time to come
to see you.

Introduce AAC to the MP

Give some background to your business and emphasise the
number of people employed in the constituency
Explain that in her AAC Report to the Communication Council,
the Governments Communication Champion, Jean Gross CBE,
found that there is significant variability in provision of
communication aids and access to specialist AAC services
across the country.

Thank you and

goodbye

Stress that around 0.5% of the population may need AAC at

some point in their lives (approx. 260,000 children and adults).
Add that this will no doubt impact some children and adults in
the MPs constituency.
Make the point that there is currently significant variability in
provision of AAC equipment and access to specialist AAC
services in your local area.
The AAC Report found that given the under-provision of local
and regional AAC services, in relation to the estimated size of
the population who require AAC services, and the need to build
capacity within the sector, the NHS Commissioning Board
should commission specialised regional AAC hub services
Make the point that you are keen to find out the future
commissioning arrangements for AAC stressing that uncertainty
will have a very negative impact on this high tech sector in the
future with potential of business being lost to overseas supplies.
Ask if the MP would be willing to raise this with Health Minister
Paul Burstow MP and say you can supply a draft letter
Thank the MP for meeting, and let them know that you will keep
them updated on progress but would be grateful if they could
forward on the response they have received from Paul Burstow
MP.

Things to do after the meeting

After the end of the meeting, there will be some follow up work to do to make sure you are
able to strengthen the relationship with the MP and get the full benefit of the relationship.
The first thing is to write a thank you letter to the MP, expressing appreciation for the time
that he/she took to come and see us. The letter should also remind the MP to get in touch
with Health Minister Paul Burstow.
After the meeting, we also suggest that you might want to make a short record of the date
and time the meeting took place, who attended, what was said, and any follow up action that
may have been promised by the MP. This will be useful for your own records but will also
help our national public affairs team keep tabs on which MPs we have a relationship with
and coordinate any assistance they have promised to give.

Checklist
Sending the meeting request

Have you checked who the local MP is? Remember that a long-serving MP may
have retired or lost their seat at the last election.

Have you got a suitable letter to send to the MP inviting him or her to a meeting? You
can use the draft letter at the end of this toolkit as an example of the kind of
correspondence you should be sending.
Do you have the right address to send the letter to?
Has the MP replied within two to three weeks? If not, then you need to call his office
to chase it up. Do you have the MPs phone number? Do you remember the date
you sent the letter, and do you have some dates in mind for the meeting to take
place, remembering that if Parliament is sitting such a meeting will usually only be
possible on a Friday, Saturday or (rarely) a Sunday.

Before the meeting

Have you confirmed the details of the MPs meeting a few days before the date?

After the meeting

Have you drafted and sent a letter to the MP thanking him for the meeting?
Have you taken a note of what was said at the meeting and sent it to them for their
records, and identified what action the MP promised to take on our behalf?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should I contact my local MP?
Communication Matters is currently engaging with MPs and other government stakeholders
to try and receive clarification over the future commissioning arrangements for AAC services
and communication aids. Meeting your local MP can support this work by increasing support
and asking for them to write to the relevant Health Minister Paul Burstow.
How can I find out the name of our MP?
You can check who the local MP is by entering your postcode into the website
www.writetothem.com or by calling the House of Commons Information Office on 020 7219
4272.
Does it matter what party our MP belongs to?
No. MPs are obliged to represent everyone who lives in their constituency, regardless of
who voted for them or what party they belong to. While it is helpful for us to develop links to
Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs as they are the parties in government, it is useful
for us to engage with Labour MPs as they are in a position to hold the Government to
account and many of them hold positions of authority in the House of Commons.

Annex I Draft letter to Local MP

(Insert Name) MP
House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA
(Insert Date)
Dear (Insert Name),
Future Commissioning of Augmentative and Alternative Communication Services and
Communication Aids
I am writing on behalf of (Insert Organisation Name) based in your constituency to draw to
your attention my concerns over the lack of clarity from the Government over the future
commissioning arrangements for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
services and communication aids. As you may be aware, it is estimated that 0.5% of the UK
population may need AAC at some point in their lives (approx. 260,000 children and adults)
and that 0.05% of the population need electronic communication aids so I would be keen to
come in and discuss my concerns with you in more detail.
The term AAC is used to describe the different methods that can be used to help people with
disabilities communicate with others. As the term suggests these methods can be used to
supplement or as an alternative to speech. People (children or adults) may have difficulty
expressing themselves in a way that is understood by others. This could be due to lack of
speech, difficulties with speech intelligibility, motor speech difficulties (controlling the physical
movements necessary for speaking), and can result from many congenital or acquired
difficulties e.g. cerebral palsy or stroke.
(Insert background to organisation)
In her AAC Report to the Communication Council, the Governments Communication
Champion, Jean Gross CBE, found that there is significant variability in provision of
communication aids and access to specialist AAC services across the country. The AAC
Report found that given the under-provision of local and regional AAC services, in relation to
the estimated size of the population who require AAC services, and the need to build
capacity within the sector, the NHS Commissioning Board should commission specialised
regional AAC hub services. It recommends these are in place in all four SHA Clusters by no
later than April 2013, to deliver services which comply with the Quality Standard set out by
the AAC sector.

Given that there has been no announcement from the Department of Health on the
intentions for the commissioning of AAC services and the need to get this right for the
estimated 260,000 children and adults who require AAC, I would be most grateful to meet
you to discuss this further and to enlighten you as to the needs of people who need AAC.
If you would be willing to meet please do get in touch and we can arrange a mutually
convenient date.
I look forward to hearing from you.
(Insert Name)

Annex II Draft letter for MP to send to Health Minister

Paul Burstow MP
Minister of State for Care Services
Department of Health
Richmond House
79 Whitehall
London SW1A 2NS
(Insert Date)
Future Commissioning of Augmentative and Alternative Communication
a Hub and Spoke model for provision
I am writing to bring to your attention suggestions that have been raised with me by (Insert
Organisation Name) based in my constituency over the future commissioning
arrangements for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) services and
communication aids.
As you may be aware, in her AAC Report to the Communication Council, the Governments
Communication Champion, Jean Gross CBE, found that there is significant variability in
provision of communication aids and access to specialist AAC services across the country.
The AAC Report found that given the under-provision of local and regional AAC services, in
relation to the estimated size of the population who require AAC services, and the need to
build capacity within the sector, the NHS Commissioning Board should commission
specialised regional AAC hub services. It recommends these are in place in all four SHA
Clusters by no later than April 2013, to deliver services which comply with the Quality
Standard set out by the AAC sector. The report also called for the Government to ensure that
the Clinical Commissioning Groups work with Health and Wellbeing Boards to commission
effective local spoke AAC services which comply with the AAC Quality Standards.
Given that no announcement has yet been made on the intentions for the commissioning of
AAC and communication aid services and the need to get this right for the estimated
260,000 children and adults who require AAC, of whom 10% require communication aids, I
would like to put on record my interest in this issue and wonder if you could let me have your
current plans.
I look forward to hearing from you.
(Insert Name) MP
The Whitehouse Consultancy
February 2012

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