Raising Awareness

The success of the PCC is ultimately dependent on its accessibility to members of the public. A crucial aim of the Commission is, therefore, to make its services well known and to empower potential complainants with practical information about their rights under the Code of Practice.

Talks and conferences

As the chairman makes clear in the introduction to this report, the PCC is a national body and it has a duty to engage with members of the public and their representatives across the whole country. To that end, PCC staff attended a diverse range of events, from conferences to speaking engagements. These included:

• Meetings with local authorities, and attending the Local Government Associations annual conference;
• Meetings with representatives from NHS Trusts, and attending the NHS Trust annual conference;
• Liaising with police forces in England and Scotland;
• Attending the National Social Services Conference;
• Attending party political conferences;
• Public debates in Liverpool, Birmingham and Kent on the subject of the reporting of asylum seeking;
• Discussions with local Citizens Advice Bureaux.

The Commission believes that this proactive programme of raising awareness accounts, in part, for the 39% increase in complaints in 2003 compared to 2002.

Developing the PCC brand In keeping with increased public awareness of its services, the Commission introduced a new logo (pictured below) in 2003 to improve public recognition of the PCC. The logo enshrines the three essential commitments of the PCC - to be fast, free and fair - and now appears on all promotional material and the home page of the website.

Helping the vulnerable

Since its establishment, the Commission has sought specifically to protect those that are most vulnerable in society. Indeed, such protection is at the heart of the Code of Practice - with clauses relating specifically to children, patients in hospital, victims of crime and victims of discrimination among others.

However, those that are most vulnerable are often the least well-equipped to make a complaint. It is therefore essential that they are provided with the information and advice needed to pursue their concerns. In 2003, PCC staff sought to fulfil this aim, visiting a number of groups and organisations, which included the following: Broadmoor and Ashworth hospitals, MIND, Refugee Action, the Muslim Council of Britain, the Commission for Racial Equality, the transgender campaigning organisation Press for Change and Victim Support.

A number of leaflets - each entitled The Code and You have been produced to provide specific information elements of the Code of Practice. Consequently, targeted advice on issues such as harassment, discrimination and intrusion into grief is now instantly accessible for those in need of immediate assistance - another example of the PCC's efforts to empower potential complainants.

During the last few years the Commission has sometimes had occasion to issue guidance notes that tackle specific issues in relation to the Code of Practice. In 2003, following discussions with several refugee interest groups, a note was published to provide guidance to editors and journalists on the appropriate terminology to use when reporting issues involving asylum seekers and refugees. Since the number of complaints on such issues has risen in the last two years, the Commission was keen to take steps towards resolving misconceptions that may have grown up through the inaccurate use of particular terms.

Training journalists

No system of self-regulation can be successful if journalists are ignorant of its role and about the practical impact that the Code of Practice will have on their professional duties. A significant part of the Commission's external work is therefore concerned with training journalism students around the country. This involves a series of lectures and seminars devised and presented by a number of PCC representatives. In 2003, PCC staff undertook over 40 such presentations, which were given at journalism colleges in Chester, Lambeth, East Surrey, Darlington, St Leonards, Cornwall and at numerous other institutions. More established journalists have also received talks on the work of the Commission and the ongoing evolution of the Code - another sign of the PCC's commitment to ensuring that those in the industry are kept up to date with information about their self-regulatory system.

PCC online and on call

An important aspect to the PCC's accessibility is its website (www.pcc.org.uk) which was visited over 150,000 times in 2003, or over 400 times per day - a sure sign of its usefulness and a rise of over 70% compared to 2002. As well as providing a vital resource for those interested in the structure and history of the Commission, the site serves two discrete purposes in particular: acting as a public record of PCC decisions and policy; and providing immediate support and assistance for members of the public. The site contains all PCC adjudications and resolved complaints since 1996, and forms a database of consistent PCC case law invaluable to editors making decisions in the newsroom or readers assessing what protection they can expect from the PCC. Perhaps even more importantly, the site is specifically tailored to meet the needs of potential complainants during times of difficulty: giving advice at the touch of a button about dealing with journalists or responding to articles; and providing the means of lodging a complaint via email.

This online guidance is supplemented by the PCC's telephone helplines to ensure that help is never far away. The PCC operates a 24-hour emergency number, on which complainants - particularly those who feel they are being harassed - can get in touch with a member of the complaints department for advice and assistance around the clock. The PCC can also of course be contacted during office hours, and members of staff gave advice to around 4500 callers in 2003 alone. Complainants in Scotland and Wales can telephone designated helpline numbers so that assistance is on hand at merely the cost of a local call.