Pass, fail or unresolved: an entry gate for corporate communications services

Use this gate before offering a corporate communications service to an organisation operating in England. Score each line pass, fail or unresolved and attach an evidence ID. An attractive brief cannot compensate for missing authority, rights or security.

The test job is one fictional, board-authorised change to service access. It does not include lobbying, investor relations, advertising, press-release transmission, software implementation or emergency response unless the contract adds and reviews those lanes separately.

Identity and scope

• Contracting identity: record legal name, company number where applicable, trading name and service address. Companies House data products can support register facts, but not quality, solvency or operating capacity. Owner: commercial lead. Recheck when a filing or contracting party changes.
• Service boundary: list the authorised communication, audiences, channels, excluded work and acceptance evidence. Fail if "communications support" is the only scope description. Owner: buyer sponsor.
• Decision authority: name the factual owner, final approver and correction authority. Stop if the supplier is expected to approve the buyer's facts.

Content and audience evidence

• Claims file: link each objective statement to a dated source and expiry. CAP Code section 3 is relevant when material falls within advertising remit; it does not classify every corporate message. Owner: claims reviewer.
• Audience map: distinguish employees, customers, suppliers, investors, journalists, regulators and the general public. A channel list is not proof that these groups need the same message.
• Accessible route: specify formats, language support, contact alternatives and acceptance testing. GOV.UK inclusive communication guidance was written for government communicators, so private buyers should adapt it with qualified accessibility and equality review.

Data, rights and security

• Contact-data record: document source, purpose, controller or processor role, recipient type, UK GDPR assessment, PECR channel question, transparency, objection and suppression. The ICO B2B marketing guidance explains that public personal data still carries obligations.
• Rights schedule: identify ownership and licences for copy, images, research and templates. IPO commissioned-work guidance warns against assuming payment automatically transfers copyright.
• Security dossier: assign access, logging, incident, recovery, subcontractor, return and deletion evidence. Apply the NCSC supply-chain principles proportionately with a named reviewer.

Commercial operation and exit

• Cost definition: state currency, VAT status, unit, period, internal labour, pass-through expenses, overages, credits and renewal. HMRC's VAT rates page gives general UK rates, not the treatment of an unidentified package. Owner: finance reviewer.
• Correction and withdrawal: define who can pause a message, which channels can be changed, evidence retained and the response when a third party republishes material.
• Exit: require editable source, approval history, contact suppression data, account transfer, retained evidence, deletion confirmation and continuity ownership.

Close the decision record

The final sheet should name the assessor, review date, evidence version and conflicts. It should also state which checks were desk-only and which configured behaviours were observed. Keep unresolved items visible. If the proposed service changes audience, channel, subcontractor, data source, claim type or charging unit, reopen the affected gates before accepting new work.

Market entry remains on hold while any non-compensating line is failed or unresolved. The owner must record the remedial action and a recheck date rather than lowering the threshold. This checklist is an operational control, not legal, tax or security advice.