https://archive.ph/GQoZo
Listening Project contract will be awarded to one of 12 pre-approved
firms, many of which worked for government during pandemic
Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson speaks during a daily Covid-19
briefing.
PR agencies on the list worked for the hub that developed the criticised
‘Stay alert’ messaging, revealed by Boris Johnson. Photograph: Pippa
Fowles/10 Downing St/Reuters
Jessica Elgot
@jessicaelgot
Tue 20 Sep 2022 15.25 EDT
PR giants that received hefty government contracts to run Covid-19
public health campaigns are now bidding to lead an inquiry into the
public’s experience of the pandemic response, the Guardian has learned.
The Listening Project was announced earlier this year as a formal part
of the Covid-19 inquiry, which will “examine the UK’s preparedness and
response to the pandemic and learn lessons for the future”.
A spokesperson for the group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said
the contract risked being “another example of those in power being able
to mark their own homework”.
But the contract for the work, estimated to be around £1m, will only be
awarded to one of 12 firms on a pre-approved government list, many of
whom also undertook work for the government during the pandemic. One
industry veteran who contacted the Guardian called it a “ludicrous,
farcical conflict of interests”.
The Listening Project, which is due to launch in mid-November, was
announced by the inquiry’s chair, Heather Hallett, and designed for the
bereaved to be able to talk about the loss of their loved ones, their
grief and the effect on their mental health.
It is intended to inform the inquiry’s understanding about how the
pandemic has affected people “in a less formal setting than a public
hearing”.
But a significant number of the firms on the pre-approved list were
involved in key government communications campaigns. London-based agency
MullenLowe was awarded a series of contracts by the Cabinet Office in
August 2020 to provide “Covid-19 awareness campaigns” – including the
creation of the “Hands, face, space” slogan and later the emotive “Look
into my eyes” campaign, which asked people to reconsider their
rule-breaking.
As well as MullenLowe, PR agencies Engine and 23red were also contracted
for work in the Covid-19 comms hub in the Cabinet Office. That hub also
developed hand hygiene communication, the “Stay at home” slogan and the
subsequent “Stay alert” messaging, which drew widespread criticism.
Another firm on the list, Freuds, was awarded a contract to provide
“strategic communications”, including “reputation management”, for the
beleaguered coronavirus Test and Trace system – without a tender process.
Accenture, the parent company of Accenture Song, another agency on the
list, acquired long-term contracts for software services and business
support for Test and Trace. FCB Inferno won the contract for the Home
Office campaign to encourage victims of domestic abuse to seek help
during lockdown restrictions.
M&C Saatchi obtained a contract during the pandemic for Public Health
England’s “Better health” campaign on adult obesity, which described the
benefits of weight loss in healthier outcomes for Covid-19.
Another firm on the list, Unlimited and Pablo, has recently been
appointed by the Cabinet Office Government Communication Service as a
standby agency – in effect, the “go-to” agency for the Cabinet Office,
though it did not run any of the big Covid-19 communications campaigns.
The government invites firms to apply for the contract, rather than vice
versa, and there remains potential for the contract to be awarded to a
firm that was not involved in Covid-19 or NHS communications after the
deadline this Friday.
The new contract for the inquiry work says that the Listening Project
“will also demonstrate to the country that we are ‘listening’ to what
the country wants to tell us, helping to maintain trust and confidence
in the inquiry and its findings”.
It says it should be “balancing the need to ‘listen’ to as many people
as possible, while being proportional in its delivery to ensure value
for money for the taxpayer and to the inquiry”.
Sign up to First Edition
Free daily newsletter
Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what
they mean, free every weekday morning
Enter your email address
Enter your email address
Sign up
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online
ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our
Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
The contract also says whichever firm takes on the work should ensure
“high proprietary standards are in place which do not impede the
delivery of the inquiry’s legal processes”.
A spokesperson for Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: “This is
incredibly disappointing. The fact that Lady Hallet is leaving bereaved
families out in the cold and having their stories gathered by a third
party is bad enough … The potential conflict of interest is clear as day
and it looks like yet another example of those in power being allowed to
mark their own homework.
“Hallet herself has acknowledged that for the inquiry to learn lessons
that prevent the monumental scale of daily deaths we saw from ever
happening again, the bereaved must be at its heart.
“The inquiry needs to urgently come forward and explain how they are
going to involve us. So far they’ve rejected our recommendations and
told us next to nothing about what their plans are.”
A spokesperson for the inquiry said: “The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is
completely independent of the government.
“The listening exercise procurement is being conducted using a Crown
Commercial Service framework to ensure value for money to the taxpayer.
The contract will be awarded in line with robust procurement and
transparency regulations.
“The inquiry has robust processes in place to deal with conflicts of
interest.
“A separate firm will be procured to analyse the data collected from the
listening exercise.
“The inquiry will be investigating the way that the government
communicated with the public – this is part of the inquiry’s terms of
reference, which set the scope for the inquiry.”
A Cabinet Office source said: “All bidders are required to declare any
potential conflicts of interest as part of standard due diligence
required under procurement rules.
“These will be investigated once the bidding process closes. The inquiry
will make the final decision as to which supplier to appoint.”
--
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.
www.avg.com