Care experienced children deserve consistency, dignity and lifelong support. However, responsibilities are currently split, services are stretched and progress toward The Promise is uneven. The Scottish Government's new Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill aims to address this. So what is in the Bill, will it work, who will it impact and when will it happen?

This conference takes place online.

Poverty is the single greatest barrier to a child’s attainment in Scotland today. While there is growing consensus on this truth, the gap between political ambition and practical delivery remains. Policy alone cannot close the attainment gap without structural change in how services support families, schools, and communities. Tackling poverty and boosting attainment must therefore be a coordinated national mission that brings together education, health, housing, and local government in practical partnership.

This conference takes place online.

Scotland’s essential services are now a constant target for increasingly sophisticated cyber attackers. While the public sector is often the primary victim, the impact of these attacks cascades far beyond councils, health boards and emergency services. They can disrupt private sector supply chains, voluntary organisations and critical national infrastructure. The challenge for organisations in Scotland is to build a unified, cross-sector approach to defending the digital front line to minimise future major breaches.

This conference takes place online.

Fraud in public services erodes trust, wastes scarce resources and undermines the delivery of essential outcomes. Yet despite stronger systems and awareness, new risks keep emerging. From procurement and grants to cyber and payroll fraud and beyond, fraud keeps evolving. How can Scotland’s public sector move beyond strategy and compliance to embed prevention and detection in every part of its operations?

This conference takes place online.

Scotland’s public and third sector leaders are being asked to hold service quality steady while funding tightens, costs rise and demand keeps shifting. The result is a familiar pattern of short-term firefighting, incremental savings that often slip and transformation programmes that struggle to work in the real world. To complicate matters further, Shona Robison MSP – Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, Scottish Government – explicitly called for public sector reform to deliver £1.5 billion in efficiencies in her 13th January Scottish Parliament statement.

This conference takes place online.

Scotland’s social care system is at a turning point. Demand is rising, needs are becoming more complex and the sector is being asked to do more. Supporting people to live independently. Preventing avoidable hospital admissions. Sustaining communities. All while operating under intense financial pressure. Recent warnings from providers and commentators underline how quickly financial strain translates into service instability, delayed discharge pressures and reduced capacity on the ground.

This conference takes place online.

Artificial intelligence is moving fast from buzzword to everyday tool in Scotland’s public services. With tight budgets and rising demand, councils, the NHS, central government and the third sector are all looking for smarter ways to work.

This conference takes place online.

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025  - DUAA - marks the UK’s most significant round of post-Brexit data reform to date. Its impact is now moving from 'what’s in the Bill?' to 'what do we need to change on Monday morning?'. Commencement is now under way and further provisions will bed in through 2026. Scottish data practitioners now have to keep pace with shifting regulatory expectations while continuing to deliver safe, lawful services under real operational pressure.

This conference takes place online.