Lobbying
Government and parliamentary relations
Many government departments have an influence over the business
environment in which our members operate. Good relations can help
BSDA protect members from the burdens of over zealous legislation
and the problems such regulations can impose upon the sector.
BSDA is recognised by the government as the voice of the UK soft
drinks industry, providing regular briefings for politicians and
civil servants in Whitehall and Westminster and the
devolved governments on current issues faced by the industry
and the action the industry is taking. This means that BSDA is
often asked to give evidence to parliamentary select committees and
departmental enquiries on various government proposals.
In addition, by working closely with our sister
organisations in Europe -UNESDA, the European Federation of Bottled
Water (EFBW) and the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN), we
are able to ensure that the UK industry's views are heard by the
European Union, from where more and more of our legislation
emanates.
BSDA also holds regular discussions with the Food Standards
Agency (FSA), the Department for Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs (Defra), the Department for Business, Innovation &
Skills (BIS), the Department of Health (DH) and the
Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) to
discuss both the content and the application of regulations and to
ensure that they are informed of members' views.
Last updated 6 May 2011.