ELSPA to work more closely with Government

ELSPA director general Paul Jackson has said that the organisation must work harder at building relationships with the UK Government in order to boost the industry's standing.

In an interview published today, Jackson said, "We need to understand where the political consensus is going and be able to affect the political consensus going forward.

"What's been said to me is that so far we haven't really been punching our weight. Everybody is keen that we really step up to the plate, and we're equally keen to do so."

According to Jackson, ELSPA has already started the process of engaging more fully in the political arena. "But we need to develop it more agressively," he continued, "Not just with Government ministers but with shadow spokespeople and Lib Dem spokespeople."

However, Jackson said that there have already been important steps made towards improving the industry's status in parliament. "When I first joined the ELSPA board in '92 or '93 there was almost no interaction between us and the political world. There's been a huge growth in the interest in and appreciation of our industry in the last five or six years particularly," He observed.

"But I would say that we're facing enormous challenges, and that we as an industry need to step up and take them on."