27 March 2024
Last week I attended PR Week’s PharmaComms Conference in London. The event brought together industry experts, thought leaders, and communication professionals to delve into the latest trends shaping our rapidly evolving healthcare sector. Amidst insightful discussions and engaging sessions, several key themes emerged, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.
The pandemic has left a significant impact on Western health systems, resulting in backlogs and delays in patient care. For pharmaceutical companies, this poses a critical challenge: how can they ensure that their groundbreaking innovations reach the patients who need them most? The answer lies in integrated campaigns that not only address market access and reimbursement but also drive patient uptake.
With elections on the horizon in Europe, the UK, and the US, the healthcare landscape is set for a seismic shift. Industry professionals recognise that election outcomes will significantly influence engagement strategies across diverse markets. Whether it’s policy changes, funding priorities, or regulatory shifts, communicators must stay agile and adapt swiftly to the changing political tides.
The challenges facing the UK’s health sector are multifaceted and complex. From declining life expectancy to the rise in chronic illnesses, no single entity can tackle these issues alone. Industry leaders are keenly aware of this reality and are actively seeking collaboration. By partnering with like-minded organisations, they aim to drive meaningful change. These partnerships extend beyond borders, transcending organisational boundaries to create a collective force for progress.
In an era of information overload, trust in authoritative institutions like governments has hit an all-time low. Patients increasingly turn to social media for health-related advice, often encountering misleading or inaccurate information. The pharmaceutical industry recognises its responsibility in combating misinformation. But many people believe technology giants should step up their efforts to fact-check health information on public-facing platforms.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is our present reality. Pharmaceutical companies are dipping their toes into this transformative technology. From Google to Microsoft, industry players are exploring AI applications that can support their day-to-day work and communications strategies.
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In summary, the PharmaComms Conference provided a glimpse into the future of healthcare communications. As we navigate the complexities of 2024, the industry must remain agile, collaborative, and committed to accurate information dissemination.
26 March 2024
Following this month’s Budget, the Tories are increasingly running out of road to make a meaningful impact on public opinion ahead of the General Election. Regardless of election timing, the Labour Party finds itself in pole position to form the next Government.
Labour has maintained a significant poll lead since former Prime Minister Liz Truss’ infamous mini-budget in 2022. Both Labour and the Conservatives are bracing themselves for a gruelling election campaign. The Conservatives will attack Keir Starmer’s record and ask voters if they really trust Labour to manage the economy. Labour has been courting business, but their consistent poll lead has led to growing scrutiny. Businesses have largely been impressed by the Starmer-Reeves operation. But Labour’s commitment to a business-friendly environment is yet to be really tested.
It is in this context that Labour launched its much-anticipated review of Financial Services, Financing Growth. On the face of it, most of the high-level principles represent more continuity than change. The calls for competitiveness, reinvigorated capital markets and greater innovation would not look out of place in a Conservative press release. “Inclusive growth” uses different language from the Johnson-era “levelling up”, but much of the underlying detail is essentially the same – developing regional hubs, attracting FDI and encouraging pension funds to invest more in the UK.
Nevertheless, the differences are there.
First, is Labour’s primary focus on retail financial services. Concerns over bank branch closures, “cash machine deserts” and the general decline of the British high street are familiar territory. But Labour has also pointed out areas for further exploration – German-style long-term mortgages, a new strategy for financial inclusion and the regulation of buy-now-pay-later products. Labour’s sister Co-operative Party has been influential on developing Labour’s pledge to double the size of the co-operative and mutual sector, which Labour views as more “community oriented” than the traditional banking sector.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves highlights the importance of female leadership and increasing diversity in financial services, with recommendations to invest more in female-owned startups and address gender / BAME pay gaps. Labour is likely to increase reporting requirements and transparency metrics on firms to boost diverse representation.
This is a key pillar of Labour’s plans for the sector. It is also a key differentiation in their offer to the public, with sustainability-conscious voters a crucial part of their intended 2024 coalition. The Review accepts that Labour’s Green Prosperity Plan will require private sector investment, though it remains far from clear what incentives Labour might provide – especially as the £28bn annual figure has now been formally retired amid fears about fiscal irresponsibility. Labour plans to implement various sustainability disclosure requirements, develop the UK’s Green Taxonomy, boost the green covered bond market and decarbonise the UK’s housing stock through retrofitting. Well-intentioned, these initiatives could nevertheless amount to a significant rise in costs for industry.
Finally, the Review does introduce some intriguing language on the UK’s relationship with the EU. Rather than talking about equivalence, Labour talks about reducing barriers to trade where London and Brussels are aligned. This could spell some form of alignment, possibly with London acting as a “rule taker” in areas where policymakers see little benefit in purposeful divergence. However, views would need to shift in Brussels for the UK to be given market access in return for a cherry-picked approach.
Labour supports the ongoing Solvency UK reforms, to reduce the regulatory burden on insurers, with a view to liberalising capital for investment. But this transactional approach is not universal. In fact, Labour emphasises its support for the ringfencing regime – which sounds like opposition to the planned reforms, intended to take some mid-size banks out of the regime altogether. The memories of 2008, when Labour was blamed for its role in “under-regulating” the sector, remain instructive.
Whoever wins the next General Election will inherit a challenging economic, political, and geopolitical landscape. Accordingly, taxation of the sector is likely to be a lightning rod within the Party, with Starmer and Reeves having backed an increase in the bank surcharge in the past while influential trade unions have already floated various models for increased bank taxation. The pressure on Reeves over her commitment not to cap bankers’ bonuses is a sign of things to come. A Labour Party faced with the prospect of cutting back public services, at least in real terms, may find the temptation of a politically popular taxes on bankers, and possibly other parts of the sector, too much to resist.
Financial sector firms can take a lot from Labour’s Review. But the sector should not be fooled into thinking that Labour is ideologically identical to the Conservatives. Labour faces pressure from activists, trade unions and centre-left think tanks for higher taxes and more regulation of the sector. The industry will need to continually make its case, especially if there is a change of Government, in what might prove a less generous fiscal and economic landscape in the years ahead.
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20 March 2024
WATCH: Samantha Niblett, Founder of Labour: Women in Tech talk about her organisation.
This week, H/Advisors Cicero, in partnership with Labour: Women in Tech, was delighted to welcome Darren Jones MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, to a roundtable discussion on how best to champion female entrepreneurs and boost investment in the UK science and technology sectors.
Darren explained how a Labour government would be a strong ally to the tech sector and specifically to women in tech, adding that female leaders are an untapped resource in the UK economy. Citing Rachel Reeves’ claim during her Mais Lecture that harnessing female entrepreneurship could add £200bn to UK GDP, Darren emphasised that partnership between government and tech companies is vital.
The roundtable centred around the challenges that the next government will have to face in this area – particularly the lack of investment in female-founded companies, which receive less than 2% of venture capital funding. The discussions shed light on how investment programmes are often inadequate in both addressing the knowledge gap that precludes women from a career in tech, as well as in identifying the firms and individuals that most deserve and would most benefit from funding.
The discussion also looked at whether the lack of women in positions to make investment decisions has an impact in the lack of investment in female-founded companies, despite the appetite among institutional investors and impressive track records of returns. Potential solutions put forward included a B-Corp style seal of approval that companies can apply for to show their commitment to invest in women. Labour’s proposals to empower the British Business Bank (BBB) with a broader remit to expand access to capital, as well as its planned reforms to reform the Apprenticeship Levy into a Skills Levy, were highlighted as promising steps forward.
Participants emphasised the need for vocal backing from government for funding and skills programmes to increase visibility of the significant work that women in tech are making to the sector and the broader economy. Such initiatives must be sufficiently well-funded to avoid over-mentoring and deliver tangible benefits to recipients.
Three key areas were identified as important for advancing the position of women in tech:
Darren Jones welcomed the points raised throughout the roundtable, which comes at an important time with Labour working on the delivery of three separate products that will seek to tackle the issues under discussion: the election manifesto, delivery notes (which can delve deeper into the policy detail), and Labour’s longer-term vision for government.
H/Advisors Cicero would like thank Samantha Niblett, CEO of Labour: Women in Tech. Find out more about Labour: Women in Tech’s work here: https://labourwomenintech.org/
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20 March 2024
Our EU Public Affairs team presents the runners and riders for the top Defence jobs in the next EU legislative term.
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20 March 2024
H/Advisors Founding Partner and Executive Chairman, Iain Anderson has been named the most influential figure in UK public affairs in this year’s list in PRWeek.
PRWeek’s yearly Power Book is a comprehensive list of the most influential people in the UK’s PR and communications industry, and includes categorised Top 10 lists by sector.
Iain was announced today as the leading figure for Public Affairs (agency), citing his recent move from Conservative to Labour Party support, as well as “A New Partnership”, his recent independent report on business for Labour’s Jonathan Reynolds MP.
Earlier this month, Iain Anderson, CEO Mark Twigg, and Partner Sonia Khan were all named in the general Power Book 2024 list.
The full Public Affairs list on PRWeek can be seen here: https://www.prweek.com/article/1865210/prweek-uk-power-book-2024-top-10-public-affairs-agency
19 March 2024
In France, the 2024 European Parliament election is scheduled to be held on 9 June 2024. This note aims to summarise the French industry perspective on these elections and the required priority European Union (EU) reforms.
According to a survey conveyed by the Direction Générale des Enterprises (DGE) and published on Tuesday 12 March by the French Ministry of the Economy, French businesses expect the next European Commission to focus on the “strategic autonomy” of the 27 EU member states. Specifically, 76% of respondents expect European policies to ensure the strategic autonomy and technological leadership of the EU. This first preoccupation is in line with the priorities of French President Emmanuel Macron, who regularly stresses the need to strengthen Europe’s independence from the United States and China.
Of equal importance to French industry will be the expectation that the EU’s executive will continue to focus on the ecological transition. 64% of the respondents called for a “transition towards a circular economy that is low-carbon and respects biodiversity”.
Three quarters of the companies that responded to this survey called on the Commission to “evolve the conception methods of public policies”. Moreover, 60% called for it to focus “on implementing existing legislation by simplifying it”. According to the testimonies gathered, entrepreneurs consider the EU to be a source of “too many constraints” and “disconnected from economic and scientific reality”. On this topic, Bercy pointed out that France and Germany have been working towards administrative simplification since last year.
There is also a considerable concern (expressed by 49% of respondents) about unfair competition from third countries, and particularly Asia. “The consultation carried out by the DGE confirms companies’ expectations of a Europe that simplifies and protects our businesses”, reacted French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire.
Cigref, a network of major French companies and public administrations committed to the development of digital technology, published a position paper alongside three other European associations (Beltug in Belgium, CIO Platform Nederland in the Netherlands and Voice in Germany) on the regulation of the digital sector by the EU.
After the last few years devoted to “regulating the digital space and the data economy” (AI Act, the Data Act, the Cyber Resilience Act, the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Service Act, etc.), these associations hope that the EU will raise its ambitions in terms of innovation and technological leadership.
The position paper lists four priority areas of work:
Équilibre des énergies (EdEn), a think tank specialising in industrial policies, stresses the need for a European industrial strategy that is properly focused on the climate and the economy, rather than an accumulation of objectives.
The think tank has made 35 recommendations, divided into nine key areas and two priorities:
According to EdEn, the European industries will need more electricity – may it be nuclear or from renewable energies – because more and more sectors and uses will be electrified in the next few years. Moreover, the electrification of the energy mix is a prerequisite for decarbonisation.
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