The saga of the government lobbying bill continues.The long-awaited and then slightly unfulfilling bill has now been put on a six week pause by the House of Lords.

The bill will now undergo a consultation period during which the coalition will discuss the bill’s alleged shortcomings with relevant parties. The pause comes a day after the heads of the UK’s major trade unions joined together to force a change in the bill.

Most involved in lobbying hope the Government will institute a statutory lobbying register that includes all lobbyists. The previous draft of the bill, released in July only would have included a small percentage of current lobbyists. The APPC, PRCA and CIPR have been of the main proponents for a transparent approach to a registry of lobbyists. Together, they support an independent registerwhich lobbyists can voluntarily join.

PRCA director-general Francis Ingham says, "The Government should see this as a golden opportunity to widen the pausing of Part Two to the rest of this badly-thought through Bill. The Government should reconsider its plans for the registration of lobbyists outlined in Part One, and introduce something that covers all those that lobby. We believe that a register which provides greater transparency will increase the reputation of our industry and restore public trust in both politics and the institutions of Government. There is an extremely widespread consensus including the lobbying industry, the voluntary sector, the trade unions, and transparency campaigners that their approach is far too narrow.”

The consultation period should extend through Valentine’s Day 2014.