Antisocial behaviour in Scotland features regularly in news reporting in a variety of different contexts. That it is taking place and is causing significant damage to the quality of life for both individuals and communities is not in dispute. The question is, who has the responsibility to tackle it, when should they be addressing it and how can this be given priority for both cure and prevention?

This conference takes place online.

Data protection requirements for all organisations in the UK and Scotland are governed by law setting out what needs to be complied with and how.  However, the new Data (Use and Access) Bill is moving swiftly through Parliament and will conclude during 2025.  This Bill contains a range of changes with implications for all data practitioners and data protection officers, impacting on when, how and why compliance is needed.  Do you know what data practitioners and organisations need to understand about what will be in the new Act, what changes and responses will be required and what the impact will be of the other wider drivers of change in the data environment?

This conference takes place online.

Scotland is at a pivotal moment in the reform of its mental health and capacity laws. The Scottish Government is responding to calls for change, driven by the findings of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review (SMHLR). This includes an urgent need to address the complexities of Adults with Incapacity (AWI) legislation, ensure mental health practices are aligned with human rights, and improve accountability and support mechanisms across the care and treatment landscape.

This conference will take place online.

Conference supported by Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights)

This conference will take place online. 

Emergency planning, resilience, business continuity and risk reduction are the activities we plan, practice and train for in the hope they will never be needed.  They mitigate the worst when it happens and bring assurance and stability when it does not.  However, the threats presented to normal order are magnified by local, national and international events which can bring instability to our own front door. So how do we plan for the unexpected, ensure that we learn from every opportunity, collaborate to maximise best practice and keep our emergency planning and resilience practitioners, and our responders at every tier, well-resourced and able to prevent and react?

This conference will take place online.

Freedom of Information in Scotland has become both an effective tool for public accountability in Scotland and a growing demand on the resources of our public sector bodies. However, questions over compliance, scope, operation and cost have increasingly come to the fore. What do Scottish bodies covered by FOI – and others that may be pulled into its reach – need to know about where we stand and what may be coming next?

This conference takes place online.

Data protection requirements for all organisations in the UK and Scotland are governed by law setting out what needs to be complied with and how.  However, the new Data Protection and Digital Information (No2) Bill now moving through Parliament is expected to conclude in early 2024.  It contains a range of changes with implications for all data practitioners and data protection officers, impacting on when, how and why compliance is needed.  What do data practitioners and their organisations need to understand about the new Act, what changes and responses will be required and what are the other latest and next broader drivers of change in the data environment?

This conference takes place online.

Effective regulation in the public, private and third sectors is essential in guaranteeing the quality services and products Scottish consumers receive. However, public sector budgets are under threat. Private sector businesses are competing for consumers who have increasingly tight budgets. Third sector organisations face another period of acute funding uncertainty. How can bodies across all three sectors deliver compliance in regulation and scrutiny in challenging circumstances? The challenge is to comply with current expectations, prepare for what is coming next and still deliver what consumers expect. The question is, how?

This conference will take place online.

Providing protection against discrimination is a legal requirement for all organisations.  Age, disability, race, gender, religion, cultural background and sexual orientation are all covered by legislation. Supporting the rights of people with protected characteristics is an obligation in equality law and a characteristic of successful organisations.  However, failure to do so is potentially reputationally damaging for both organisations and individuals.  In the worst cases, it can be career – or even organisation – ending.  While compliance is one thing, actively and successfully promoting equality, diversity and inclusion is another.  What do you need to know?  Where is current good practice heading?  How do organisations get it right?

This conference will take place online.

The Scottish Government will publish its Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill sometime between now and June 2023. However the 2021 consultation on reform revealed striking differences of opinion on the way forward, particularly - though not exclusively - between practitioner and consumer interests. So how will the new Bill seek to deliver open, transparent regulation and enhanced accountability and consumer rights? How can this be balanced with concerns about avoiding political interference in the legal profession and legal services and perhaps higher costs to consumers? Most importantly what will this mean for the way the legal profession, legal practices and all those fall within the definition of legal services are scrutinised, regulated and held accountable in future?

This conference will take place online.