All Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG)

History

2021: How pharmaceutical companies pay members of the British Parliament for state support of business

At the end of June 2021, researchers from the University of Bath said that pharmaceutical companies provide members of the British Parliament with hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in the form of kickbacks. According to the researchers, the pharmaceutical industry has created a "hidden network of political influence" on dozens of All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG), sending them hundreds of "opaque" payments as part of lobbying.

The results of the study raise unpleasant questions about the independence of the APPG - voluntary inter-party groups that seek to influence ministers and government departments through reports, inquiries and meetings in Westminster. According to The Guardian, members of the APPG are members of the parliament itself.

Scientists from the University of Bath found that between 2012 and 2018, 58 APPGs dealing with various aspects of health care received 468 payments totaling just under 2.2 million pounds ($3 million) in the form of direct and indirect financing from pharmaceutical companies. APPGs do not receive money from parliament to support their activities, which are often associated with interviewing ministers and sending reports.

Members of the British Parliament receive kickbacks from pharmaceutical companies through APPG

In the context of healthcare-related APPGs, pharmaceutical industry payments represent an institutional conflict of interest, the authors concluded in an article published in the medical journal PLOS One.

Pharmaceutical companies can use their close relationship with APPG to advocate policies that promote their commercial interests and are favorably reflected in reports, they said, all without public knowledge

We do not charge APPG or allege any wrongdoing. However, this dilemma requires a solution, the researchers say. - We must know who is behind these groups and what drives their calls for change. This is especially important for health policy, which should be based on the principle of improving public health and avoiding the influence of other conflicting interests.[1]

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