Increasing membership from across the public sector has led one of local government's most-established officer groups to change its name.

The Society of Personnel Officers (SOCPO), which represents senior human resources (HR) managers, this week becomes the Public Sector People Managers' Association (PPMA). The move coincides both with its annual conference in Brighton, and with the accession of the society's first president to come from the Civil Service – Angela O'Connor, HR director for the Crown Prosecution Service.