Charities lose out in bid to amend lobbying legislation

The government has rejected calls for reform of the Lobbying Act, which medical research charities have said could impair their ability to campaign on matters of research policy.

In a statement on 15 September, the Cabinet Office said it would not enact the recommendations of a review into the Lobbying Act, which restricts what individuals and organisations can say in the year leading up to a general election and imposes spending limits on campaigning.

The review, published in March 2016, proposed amending the act to cover only activity intended to influence the public vote, and reduce the period covered by the act to four months.