JBP will be undertaking a proactive and highly targeted communications programme for Burdens, encompassing both mainstream and social media channels. Promotion of the pioneering development will focus on potential end customers including local authorities, waste management companies, food retailers and manufacturers.

Chris Lawrance, a director at JBP, said: “This contract is further testimony to our growing credentials in the environmental sector, particularly in the area of renewable energy and waste to energy.”

Kevin Hancock, Business Development Director at Burdens, commented: “We chose JBP because of their experience in the environmental technology sector, as well as their understanding and knowledge of waste to energy solutions, such as the one we have developed.”

Burdens adds to a growing portfolio of green sector clients at JBP, including nappy recycling specialists Knowaste, Low Carbon South West and Bristol Green Capital.

JBP is proud to have pledged its commitment to Bristol’s bid to become European Green Capital 2014.  Bristol is the only UK city to be shortlisted for this coveted title, currently held by Vitoria-Gasteiz in Spain. The award is given to a city that has a consistent record of achieving high environmental standards, is committed to ongoing and ambitious goals for further environmental improvement and sustainable development and can act as a role model to inspire other cities and promote best practices to all other European cities.

Please show your commitment by pledging your support online www.bristolgreencapital.org

Coalition 2.0? 

Her Majesty the Queen opened the new session of Parliament last week. The formal pomp and ceremony gave way to the traditional feisty debate in the House of Commons later on the same day. The Speech had been billed as the second phase of the Coalition after the ‘omnishambles’ of recent weeks.

The Speech  contained 15 bills, and 4 draft bills, covering a number of contentious issues. For example the Draft Communications Data Bill, which has already been dubbed the ‘snooper’s charter’, proposes to allow the security services increased access to communications data. Perhaps less controversially the Banking Reform Bill will implement findings from the Independent Commission on banking, including the proposal to ‘ring-fence’ the retail wing of banks.

Yet the initial reaction to the Speech suggested that few people were satisfied. Backbench Conservative MP  David Davis publically criticised the proposals contained within the Draft Commuincations Bill. Ed Miliband, unsurprisingly, criticised the Speech and said that ”no change, no hope is the real message” to draw.

The Speech did contain a provision for House of Lords reform to be debated in this session – a victory of sorts for the Liberal Democrats.  Another contentious issue for Conservative backbenchers – gay marriage – was not included. Stonewall chief executive Ben Summerskil commented on this absence by staing his hope that  “extension of the legal form of marriage to gay people isn’t going to into a ‘tuition fees’ issue, announced with much hoopla…and then abandoned.”

A long awaited Bill to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists was another glaring omission, although Ministers have suggested that this will appear in the next session in 12 months time.

Riding into trouble? 

Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson gave evidence to the Leveson Inquiry last  week. During a poised and calm appearance, Rebekah Brooks disclosed the extent of her relations with successive Prime Ministers – she dined with Mr Blair more than 30 times during his Premiership, met Mr Brown at least 5 times whilst he was in Downing Street and since the 2010 General Election has had dinner at least four times with David Cameron.

She also told the Inquiry that, when she resigned from News International last year, she received an indirect message of support from David Cameron telling her to “keep your head up“. Perhaps more cringeworthy for the Prime Minister was the revelation that he was in the habit of ending text messages with ‘lol’ – believing that he was saying ‘lots of love’.

Overall the view from Downing Street will have been one of relief that neither Mr Coulson or Ms Brooks disclosed any ‘explosive’ new evidence. Yet the Inquiry still has a long way to run – including appearances by Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the current Prime Minister over the next few weeks.

And with calls from the Oppostion for Jeremy Hunt to resign, this whole affair seems set to dominate the political agenda until the summer recess.

Striking Back 

Somewhere between 150,000 and 400,000 public sector workers, including 20,000 off-duty police officers, took to the streets last week in protest against the Government’s plans to overhaul public pensions. Protests took place across the country, involving NHS staff, border control workers, civil servants and university lecturers. Some of the protesters included prison guards – despite legislation dating back to 1994 that prohibits prison staff from electing to strike.  

The Government’s pension reform plans, set out again in the Queen’s Speech, aim to establish a common framework across public service pension schemes, and to bring them more into line with private pensions, which are generally regarded as much less generous. The Government argue that current public sector pension schemes are not economically sustainable given demographic change. Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said that talks with unions will not be reopened, and that further strike action would achieve nothing, despite union leaders warning that Britain could face a year of strikes if the pension issue is not resolved.

Steady in the line of fire

Last week was the 200th anniversary of a unique political event in Britain – the assassination of a Prime Minister. Tory Prime Minister Spencer Percival was shot and killed at point blank range in the lobby of House of Commons by John Bellingham, a merchant who had been imprisoned in Russia and held the Government to blame. 

Percival faced two major challenges as Prime Minister - the nation’s crippling debt (largely thanks to the Napoleonic Wars) and a lack of an overall parliamentary majority. That might sound rather familiar to the current occupant of Number 10.   

Parliamentary Business

Both Houses will continue to debate the Queen’s Speech this week.

So, what have we learnt from the local elections last week?

Well, Labour are a competitive political force again and, perhaps more importantly for him, Ed Miliband’s leadership is secure until the General Election.  

Ed Miliband will be reassured that his party saw off the SNP challenge in Glasgow and made large gains across Wales. But what will be especially pleasing for the Labour leader will be the victories won in Southern England. Councils such as Southampton, Plymouth, Reading and Harlow are now back in Labour control.

David Cameron had rather less to cheer about. Even the one bright moment for the Conservatives – Boris retaining City Hall – is a bitter sweet moment for the Prime Minister.  Boris secured many more votes than Conservative candidates standing for the London Assembly and thereby highlighted that the ‘Boris brand’ is currently more electorally appealing than the national Conservative one.

Polling analysis suggests that the national equivalent vote share – the vote that each party would receive if elections had been held in all parts of the country – put Labour on 39%, the Conservatives 33% and the Lib Dems 15%. If these results were replicated at a General Election tomorrow, Ed Miliband would enter Downing Street with a comfortable majority.

What does all this mean for the future of the Coalition? Well unlike the local elections in 2011, when the Lib Dems took the brunt of the punishment, David Cameron is now under real pressure from his own backbenchers to move to the right. There are already signs that the Prime Minister is responding to this – for example by signalling that House of Lords reform is not a priority (despite it being a cherished Lib Dem policy of course).

This week’s Queen’s Speech is being portrayed by Downing Street as evidence that the Government is ‘getting on with the job’ and has an ambitious forward agenda.

Yet the view within Westminster is strengthening that, despite their personal best efforts, David Cameron and Nick Clegg are being drawn in opposite directions by their respective parties. At the end of 2011 the assumption within Westminster was that despite some ‘turbulence’ the Coalition would hang together until 2015. That is no longer certain and it makes for interesting times ahead.  

JBP’s Tom Selway has been voted in as Bristol Junior Chamber’s (BJC) new vice president at the organisations AGM  at the Merchant’s Hall with Savita Custead, director at Bristol Natural History Consortium taking over as President.

The three year post which leads to President next year will see Tom taking a central role in the direction of the 64 year old organisation, continue to represent BJC on the West of England LEP and encouraging debate on the future of Bristol, especially the mayor referendum.

Tom said: “It’s a great opportunity for me especially with so much happening in Bristol at the moment.  We  are looking to elect our first Mayor, our cricket club may be forced to move out of the city, our two football clubs are trying to build new stadiums and the cities transport debate continues.  A key part of my role at BJC is to ensure Bristol’s young professionals get involved in these and other important decisions.  I am really looking forward to the challenge”.

Welcome to the first JBP PR news wire – a weekly column in which we round up the latest industry news from the UK and abroad. If you have seen a great story that we may have missed, let us know in the comments below…

Jeremy Hunt resists Labour call to quit over BSkyB deal: Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has rejected calls for him to resign over claims that he privately supported attempts by News Corporation to take full control of BSkyB. Labour leader Ed Miliband said emails given to the Leveson Inquiry showed Mr Hunt had been a “back channel” for News Corp rather than being impartial. But Mr Hunt says he handled the process with “scrupulous fairness”. More from BBC News…

Simon Wren rejoins Home Office as comms head: The Home Office has brought in Simon Wren as its new director of comms, less than two years after he left the department. Wren has taken on the role, which he previously filled on a temporary basis, following the departure of Yasmin Diamond in January. He took up the job of media and comms director for the Ministry of Defence in January 2011. Among challenges likely to be facing Wren is the spotlight on the Home Office over confusion surrounding Jordanian terror suspect Abu Qatada. More from PRWeek…

BAA slammed over ‘exploitation’ after charging PR agencies to pitch: BAA has been accused of ‘unacceptable exploitation’ after it emerged the airport operator is charging agencies to be considered for a place on its PR roster. In February the owner of Heathrow and Stansted kicked off a review of its £4m, four-year comms roster, covering media relations, public affairs, consumer PR and crisis comms. Agencies were asked to provide submissions for one or more of the five ‘lots’ (see below). Participants are now awaiting the decision of the first round of the process. PRWeek has learned from a number of sources with knowledge of the pitch that BAA is demanding a payment of around £1,000 for each of the five areas for which they wish to enter submissions. More from PRWeek…

UK business investing more in social media, but failing to measure ROI: How many companies using social media are actually measuring what they’re getting from it? According to a study conducted by Onepoll for software vendor EPiServer, the answer to that question is ‘not many’, at least in the UK. Of the more than 250 marketing decision makers surveyed about their organization’s use of social media, a disturbingly low (but perhaps not surprising) percentage (10%) indicated that they were effectively measuring ROI. More from eConsultancy…

Nestlé revamps PR support as protest looms: Food giant Nestlé is on the hunt for corporate and public affairs support as the company faces fresh scrutiny from pressure groups. PRWeek has learned that the Switzerland-based multinational has held chemistry meetings with several agencies, with a view to asking a maximum of four to pitch. More from PRWeek…

With all due Respect

George Galloway made his first contribution at Prime Minister’s Question Time this week as the Respect MP for Bradford West following his shock by-election victory. His inaugural question regarded, unsurprisingly, the timetable for the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. Mr Galloway asked the Prime Minister if the Australian Government’s recent decision to accelerate the pace of troop withdrawal from the country had led him to re-assess the UK’s own plans for leaving “the bloody maw of Afghanistan”.

David Cameron responded by first congratulating Mr Galloway on his electoral success and the “great power and great force” of his oratory skills. However, he made clear his disagreement with Mr Galloway stating that the Afghan campaign was not a “war against Islam” and that British troops were in the country “at the invitation of an Islamic Government”. He then urged Mr Galloway “not to play to the gallery on this issue but to speak up for the work that our forces are doing to make Afghanistan a safer country.”

The encounter followed the Prime Minister’s mocking comments about Ed Miliband’s performance of late, proclaiming that the Labour leader had “given one person a job opportunity—George Galloway”. The remark which received an icy stare from Mr Galloway actually broke Parliamentary protocol, referring to him by name instead of title.

Comic Relief

Labour’s London Mayoral hopeful, Ken Livingstone, commented this week on his disapproval of ‘celebrity’ and ‘personality’ politics. His remarks came with an admission that he has encountered large numbers of traditional Labour voters who have stated their intention to vote for Boris Johnson because he makes them laugh. Ken lamented the apparent decline of ‘serious’ policy considerations in large sections of the electorate, adding, “I didn’t come into politics to make you laugh. If I wanted to make you laugh I’d be a stand-up comedian.”

The former Mayor also stated that he remained unconvinced by the whole concept of elected Mayors and whether they would benefit other cities.  He complained that the system concentrates too much power in the hands of one individual and that this contributed to pushing serious policy issues “down the agenda”. 

With the London Mayoral elections being held on 3^rd May, Mr Johnson is currently the favourite to retain his job, despite Labour’s nine point lead in the national opinion polls. 

Abu Qatada in torture over flight delays

The cheers that were heard in the House of Commons as Theresa May announced the re-arrest of Abu Qatada have quickly died down as the Home Secretary’s  bid to deport Mr Qatada has been added to the  long list of blunders or “omnishambles” by the Government.

The Home Secretary’s attempt has been thwarted due to apparent confusion over dates. It seems that Ms May believed that the time limit in which Mr Qatada’s lawyers could appeal against his removal had elapsed. However, officials at the European Court of Human Rights have claimed that the deadline was actually 24 hours later. And funnily enough in that time they received an appeal application from Mr Qatada’s legal team. Now a panel of five judges will decide if the case should go before the Grand Chamber, with claims that it could take months before a decision is reached.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has since stated that the Home Secretary “not knowing what day of the week it is” is a “farce” and that she should have spent more time dealing with the case and less time “partying with X Factor judges.” However, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke remains adamant that he cannot see what the “big deal was”.

No reason to Party

This week Ed Miliband proposed a new reform to party funding, seeking to cap individual donations to political parties at £5,000. This is in stark contrast to the proposition previously suggested by the Conservative Party of a £50,000 individual cap.

Such a change would have a dramatic impact on all  three major parties – especially the Conservatives. Mr Miliband admitted that it would have a “painful” effect on Labour. However, the proposals have been welcomed by Liberal Democrat deputy leader Simon Hughes who stated, “We’re pleased that Labour has finally recognised that big money should be taken out of politics and that this includes trade unions.”

But the Labour leader’s plans have not received the same reaction from the Conservative Party. Mr Miliband’s insistence that political levies paid by trade union members to the Labour Party should remain, has prompted a Conservative Party spokesman to call the reforms “virtually meaningless”.

The sky’s the limit

A five-year-old schoolboy from Greenwich received a letter from the Education Secretary Michael Gove on Wednesday, after he sent him a note attached to a helium balloon.  The note miraculously landed right outside Mr Gove’s office in Westminster.

The boy was said to be delighted, although according to his father he was not quite sure who Mr Gove was. But the Education Secretary apparently wrote a heart-warming response which included his love for Star Wars. He also revealed that his children had recently watched the animated film Despicable Me. Only time will tell if the new Conservative engagement tactic has worked.

Next Week’s Business

In the House of Commons on Monday the Financial Services Bill enters its Report Stage. On Tuesday there is a debate on the revised National Planning Policy Framework and on Wednesday the Civil Aviation Bill moves onto its Report stage.

The House of Lords return from its Easter recess next week and will spend its time considering amendments to a series of Bills. Prorogation – the end of the session of Parliament – is looming and may occur as early as Monday 30^th April.

The new Queen’s Speech is scheduled for Tuesday 9^th May.

Labour see red

Labour’s shock defeat at the Bradford West by-election to Respect’s George Galloway seems to still be causing major reverberations within the Labour Party. Some senior figures inside the Shadow Cabinet are said to be questioning the financial and political viability of allowing existing MPs to seek the Party’s nomination for the forthcoming Mayoral and Police Commissioner elections.

A string of by-elections could be triggered if MPs resign from their parliamentary seats to take up the new roles. Contesting a large number of by-elections could become a very expensive endeavor and could significantly diminish Labour’s financial ability to target key marginal seats at the 2015 General Election, in addition to threatening existing safe Labour seats. Labour’s finances are already in poor shape, with an estimated financial deficit of over £1.7m last year.

Birmingham Mayoral hopeful, Gisela Stuart MP, is said to be furious at the possibility of being banned from the contest and has rebuked her Party as “old-fashioned” and “backwards looking“. No formal decision has yet been taken by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) on whether or not to proceed with the ban, but with the alleged support of senior figures such as Deputy Leader Harriet Harman, it has become a real possibility.

Relaxed About Tax

In the aftermath of a very public row, London Mayoral frontrunners Boris Johnson and Ken Livingstone revealed their personal tax affairs last week. MPs have since come under extensive media pressure to do the same in the name of transparency.

Although the standard practice for senior officials in the United States, such moves have never caught on in the UK. However, this looks set to change as both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor have agreed to the idea “in principle“. Indeed, George Osborne has commented that he would be “very relaxed” about making his tax affairs public. This comes after Labour have openly questioned if any Cabinet members will personally benefit from the cutting of the 50p rate of tax in the Budget.

Critics of the idea, such as UKIP leader Nigel Farage, argue that the prospect could deter successful business men and women from seeking office. Others have suggested that such practice would equate to a huge invasion of privacy. However, it has been pointed out that transparency about tax is not the same as transparency about wealth. It has been suggested that David Cameron has opened a veritable Pandora’s Box by endorsing the idea. Pressure may build on him to take the concept to its natural conclusion and publish not just tax returns but also income received from trusts, inheritances and property.

Konnichiwa, Dave

Whilst Parliament is on its Easter recess, the Prime Minister has been busy jet-setting around East Asia promoting Britain.

Starting in Japan, David Cameron sought to make the most of the country’s recent relaxation of defence procurement rules by showcasing the UK’s specialties in the field. He then flew to Indonesia where he proclaimed the country to be a shining example of the compatibility between Islam and democracy. Unfortunately, and somewhat embarrassingly, he mistakenly referred to Indonesia as India in the process. Putting this aside he then flew to Malaysia, becoming the first Prime Minister since John Major to visit the country in 1993. Today, David Cameron is in Burma for the photo opportunity of the trip, his meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Cornish MPs make a meal of it

Unfortunately for the Government, ‘Pastygate’ is a story that refuses to leave the headlines. At 3pm on Wednesday, a Cornish coalition, comprised of three Liberal Democrat MPs – Stephen Gilbert, Dan Rogerson and Andrew George- and three Conservative MPs -George Eustice, Sarah Newton and Sheryll Murray – gathered for a summit at Lowin House in Cornwall. They were joined by bankers, tax experts and local businesses, all of whom are united in opposition to the Chancellor’s plans in his Budget to place VAT on all hot food sold in shops.

Next Week’s Business

The House of Commons returns from its Easter recess on Monday. First on the agenda is the Finance Bill which will receive its Second Reading on Monday before moving on to start its Committee Stage on Wednesday and Thursday. And On Tuesday MPs will consider the Lords’ amendments to the Legal Aid Bill.

The House of Lords remains in recess until Monday 23 April.

The Chancellor argued that his plans would reward work:

“This Budget supports working families and helps those looking for work. It unashamedly backs business. And it is on the side of aspiration: those who want to do better for themselves and for their families.”

1. A stable economy

Mr Osborne stated that in the current climate “stability comes first.” He announced that the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) expects the UK to avoid recession and is currently revising the growth forecast for this year up to 0.8%. In addition, borrowing is set to fall from £126 billion this year to £21 billion by 2016/17. This is £11 billion less than was forecast in the Autumn Statement.

2. A fairer and more simple tax system

The Chancellor stated his commitment to creating a tax system that rewards hard work and supports families whilst cutting down on tax avoidance.

Income tax

Personal allowance will increase by £1,100 from April 2013 to £9,205. There will also be a public consultation on merging the income tax and national insurance system, an idea proposed last year by the Office of Tax Simplification. Taxpayers are also to be sent annual tax statements to let them know “what they’re paying and what they’re paying it for”.

50p tax rate

For those on £150,000 or more the 50p tax rate will be cut to 45p from April 2013.

Corporation tax

The headline rate of corporate tax will fall from 26% to 24% from this April, which is 1% more than expected. Future cuts will see the rate drop to 23% in April 2013 and 22% in April 2014. 2

Stamp Duty

Stamp duty will increase from 5% to 7% on all homes worth £2million or more. In addition, stamp duty on £2million-plus homes bought through a company will be set at 15%.

Child benefits

Child Benefit will be withdrawn through an income tax charge from households where someone has an income over £50,000 a year. The withdrawal will be gradual for households where someone has an income between £50,000 and £60,000.

Tax relief

There will be a cap on income tax relief of £50,000 or 25% of income, whichever is higher.

3. Support Growth

The statement also set out the Government’s plans to support businesses. The Chancellor reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to ‘The Plan for Growth’, first announced in the Autumn Statement last year, and set out measures that he hopes will stimulate investment, exports, enterprise and the employment market:

- Development of a national roads strategy.

- Belfast, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester and Newcastle were announced as new broadband super-connected cities.

- £150m of tax increment financing to help councils promote development and an extra £270m for the Growing Places fund.

- A new Pension Infrastructure Platform is to be established which will initially invest £2 billion to UK infrastructure by early 2013.

- Sunday trading laws will be relaxed during the Olympics and Paralympics.

- A below inflation increase of the National Minimum Wage will be introduced.

- Owners of smaller unincorporated businesses will be relieved from some of the burden of accounting for tax purposes with a new system of “cash accounting” for those whose turnover is less than £77,000 a year. This will be introduced following a formal consultation.

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