Crisis communications for councils, local authorities and public bodies.

We understand that public-sector organisations have procurement and governance requirements that don't disappear simply because a crisis is moving quickly. At the same time, waiting several weeks to appoint communications support may not be realistic when journalists are already asking questions or an issue is about to become public.

Sugar PR can work flexibly with your procurement, finance and legal teams to make the appointment process as straightforward as possible. We can provide quotations, scope, supplier information, insurance details and other documentation quickly, and structure an initial engagement around the immediate support required.

Where your own procurement rules provide for urgent, emergency or exceptional appointments, we can respond quickly enough to work within that process. We don't seek to bypass procurement controls; we help your officers make a rapid, properly documented appointment where their rules permit it.

Once appointed, we can begin work immediately, including joining an urgent senior leadership meeting online or travelling to you at short notice.

Public-sector crisis communications often involve both elected members and officers, and understanding the distinction between their respective roles is important.

We work with the chief executive, senior officers, monitoring and finance colleagues, communications teams and political leadership as appropriate to the circumstances. One of our first jobs is usually to establish who needs to be involved, where decisions sit, who approves communications and who will speak publicly on behalf of the organisation.

Elected members may require briefings before an announcement or significant media coverage. Senior officers may need separate operational lines, while communications teams need an agreed position they can use consistently.

Sugar PR provides politically neutral communications advice. Our role isn't to advance a party-political position. It is to help the organisation and its leadership communicate accurately, responsibly and confidently while recognising the legitimate roles of elected members and professional officers.

We're there to strengthen your existing team, not replace it.

An internal communications team brings invaluable knowledge of the organisation, its people, local media, political environment, communities and established channels. During a serious or prolonged crisis, however, that team can suddenly face a significant increase in workload while also dealing with internal communications and business-as-usual responsibilities.

Sugar PR can provide additional senior crisis capacity around them. That might include developing the communications strategy, drafting statements and Q&As, handling or supporting media enquiries, preparing senior spokespeople, monitoring coverage and providing an external perspective on reputational risk.

Our wider PR and media relations experience also means we understand how journalists and newsrooms operate when a significant public-interest story is developing.

We agree roles at the outset so everybody understands who is doing what and where approvals sit. Done properly, we become an extension of the existing press office, giving the communications lead additional capacity and experienced senior counsel when the pressure is at its highest.

Sugar PR has extensive experience of communications involving local authorities and councils, NHS and healthcare organisations, social housing providers, charities and organisations delivering regulated public services.

Our work regularly involves complex environments where communications cannot be considered in isolation. There may be statutory responsibilities, safeguarding considerations, regulators, elected representatives, commissioners, public funding, legal proceedings or significant media and community interest.

Our senior team also brings wider experience of working with organisations and issues at local, regional and national level.

That matters during a crisis because public-sector communications require more than writing a good press statement. You need to understand governance, accountability, public interest, political sensitivities and the relationships between different public bodies.

Where relevant, we'll also draw on our established relationships and understanding of local authorities and the wider public-sector landscape to help communications run smoothly between organisations.

Sugar PR also works extensively across health and social care communications , including organisations operating in regulated and publicly commissioned services.

A serious public-sector issue rarely belongs to one organisation alone.

Depending on the circumstances, there may be internal or external auditors, regulators, police, safeguarding teams, lawyers, insurers, NHS organisations, government departments or other public bodies involved.

Our job isn't to speak for those organisations. It's to make sure your communications take account of their roles and don't inadvertently compromise an investigation, contradict information being issued elsewhere or create unnecessary confusion.

We help establish who owns which information, what can be communicated, where approvals are required and whether liaison between organisations is needed before something is released.

Where appropriate, we can work directly alongside audit teams, legal advisers and regulatory or investigative stakeholders to help maintain a coherent communications approach.

That becomes particularly important when several organisations may receive media enquiries about the same incident. Consistency doesn't mean everybody has to issue identical statements – it means the different communications should not unnecessarily undermine or contradict one another.

Sometimes the most important communications relationships aren't with journalists at all.

A developing issue may affect a neighbouring local authority, combined authority, NHS organisation, police force, housing provider, commissioner, government department or another public-sector partner. Those organisations may need advance notice, briefing material or an agreed understanding of what is about to become public.

Sugar PR can help map those relationships early and determine who needs to know what, when they need to know it and who should make the contact.

Where an organisation already has strong relationships with neighbouring authorities and public-sector partners, we work through and support those existing channels rather than creating unnecessary new ones. We are also accustomed to working with local authorities and understand the importance of maintaining trusted relationships beyond the immediate crisis.

Handled well, stakeholder liaison prevents partners being surprised by media coverage and reduces the risk of different public bodies inadvertently giving conflicting accounts of the same situation.

Yes. In a public-sector crisis, the media is only one audience.

Depending on the issue, communications may also need to reach elected members, MPs, employees, trade unions, residents, service users, families, commissioners, partner organisations, regulators, government departments and community stakeholders.

We help identify those audiences and decide the appropriate order, channel and message for each. A press statement may be appropriate for journalists, but it isn't necessarily the right way to explain a difficult situation to employees, affected families or elected members.

Sugar PR can support stakeholder briefings, internal communications, member communications, public affairs liaison, Q&As, correspondence and preparation for meetings alongside the media response.

The objective is a joined-up communications plan in which important stakeholders hear significant information from the organisation wherever possible, rather than discovering it unexpectedly through a newspaper, social media post or third party.

You'll speak directly to Pete Davies, who leads Sugar PR's crisis communications work.

The first conversation is about understanding what has happened: what you know, what you don't yet know, who is already involved, whether journalists have made contact, what may become public and what legal, regulatory or political processes are underway.

We're based in Manchester and support organisations across the UK. We can join a senior leadership meeting online immediately where necessary or travel at short notice when face-to-face support is more appropriate.

We're also happy to sign an NDA where required and can work from the outset alongside your existing communications team, lawyers, auditors, insurers and other professional advisers.

The immediate outputs will depend on the situation, but might include a rapid reputational risk assessment, stakeholder map, holding statement, media Q&A, approval process, spokesperson advice and an immediate communications plan.

The earlier we're involved, the more options we usually have. The objective isn't simply to survive the next headline. A well-managed response can demonstrate strong leadership, accountability and good governance – and in some circumstances leave stakeholders with greater confidence in the organisation than they had before the crisis.