Core Challenges for the Future of Scottish Local Government: Briefing conference
Tue 24th Apr 2018
Edinburgh, Morton Fraser Lawyers
SUPPORTERS All Supporters

OVERVIEW View Conference Agenda
Scottish local government is once again at a crossroads. All around, the terrain is changing.
This half-day briefing conference drills down into the core challenges facing Scottish local government. It analyses the substance and effect of each factor affecting future service delivery, bringing insight into where financial, policy and broader structural pressure is coming from - both within local government and externally - and assesses the future consequences arising from these pressures.
The challenges are many - pressure on public finances, Brexit consequences, the impact of government policy choices on favoured and less favoured services, the Scottish Government's planned review of local governance, possibilities of regionalisation, expectation of outcome focussed delivery and increasing demands placed on services by demographic drivers and consumer expectations.
But there are also opportunities. If Brexit means more powers returning to the UK and Scotland, where might local government have greater influence and exercise greater responsibility? How might local government funding be augmented? What role could local government play in broader spheres of policy delivery to support economic growth, health, accountability and democratically engaged communities? What could local government achieve with the confidence to demand more powers for itself?
The total Scottish budget is projected to fall by 2.3% in real terms from 2016 to 2020. The Fraser of Allander Institute indicates just over half the total Scottish budget will be protected by Scottish Government commitments on health, policing, childcare and attainment. Their conclusion is "All of this leaves non-education elements of local government as the largest part of the budget which could be categorised as "non-protected". So how will that impact on Scottish local government?
The conference will take place in three sessions:
- Public Finance Drivers, Policy Choices and Efficiency
- Structures, Powers and Purpose
- Governance, Partnership and Outcomes
It will bring together a series of experts on each of the core themes facing local government to give in depth insight into each issue, set out scenarios for what will happen next and discuss possible options for Scottish local government to engage with the challenges.
Who should attend:
- Elected Members
- Senior Officers
- Heads of Service and Service Managers
- Policy Officers
- Local Government Partners - Public, Private and Third Sector
- Departmental Directors
- Governance Managers
- Corporate and Finance Services Managers
- Transformation Managers
- Improvement Officers
- Digital Service Managers
- Performance Managers
KEYNOTE SPEAKER View All Speakers
Rory Alexander
Conference Chair and Partner, Morton Fraser LLP
David Eiser
Research Fellow, Fraser of Allander Institute
Prof James Mitchell
Co-Director, Academy of Government, University of Edinburgh and Member - Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services
Lynda Towers
Director of Public Law, Morton Fraser
Cllr Susan Aitken
Leader of the Council, Glasgow City Council
Donald Anderson
Director, Playfair Scotland
Brian Logan
Policy Manager - Local Government and Communities Directorate, Scottish Government
Malcolm Burr
Chief Executive, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Amanda Britain
Director, ABL and Chair, Chartered Institute of Housing Scotland
LATEST NEWS All Conference News
The Challenges for Local Government in Scotland
12th Apr 2018
Keep Up To Date
Not ready to book but want to stay up to date with announcements about this conference
Interested?
Are you interested in conferences like these? Sign Up to get emails when we add a new conference.
DOWNLOADS
I was drawn to this briefing by the quality of speaker line up. All speakers were excellent and there was good coverage on all topics.