My former colleagues at IPB Communications have built a reputation over the last 10 years for being the people you would want in your team when the going gets tough. So I was delighted, but not surprised, to learn from their newsletter which landed in my email box today that they have been shortlisted for another award for their stirling crisis management work with City West Housing Trust.

They were on hand after tenants’ homes were hit by a gas explosion in Salford, which saw more than 200 houses evacuated last year. The team manned the press office and worked around the clock for the best part of a week to deal with journalists’ queries, prepare breifings and ‘lines to take’ and be a friendly, unwavering voice of reason as the nation’s media turned its attention on the trust. It seems like they handled it in the typical ‘whatever it takes’ way that makes them so well respected within the sector – and, rightly, by their peers too.

Members of the IPB team recently travelled to London to meet the CIPR and discuss their work as part of their entry for the Excellence Awards. Hats off to them, and best of luck for the awards next month – I’ll be thinking of them on the night.