Centre for Freedom of Information Annual Practitioners’ Conference

Technology, more than ever, is impacting on how the right to information is being guaranteed in Scotland. The ways in which public authorities can store, manage, and disseminate information through the use of technology is becoming more sophisticated, bringing with it both opportunities and potential issues. The public are also making greater use of technology to access, request and understand information held by public authorities, raising questions about how public authorities should respond to these shifts from the public.

The theme for this year’s the Centre for Freedom of Information’s Annual Practitioners’ Conference is Change and the Future of Freedom of Information. With a plenary session with the Scottish Information Commissioner David Hamilton and a range of interactive seminars, the Conference will reflect on the intersection between the right to information and technology, and what this means for the right in Scotland.

This year’s Conference will provide an excellent opportunity to consider and discuss what role technology will play in guaranteeing the right to information and in managing information, and we hope to see you here in Dundee.

Location: Dalhousie Building

Download the Privacy Notice

Conference Programme

9:00 - 9:30 Registration 

10:00-10:10 Introduction from the Chair

• Amanda Millar, Chair of the University of Dundee Court

10:10-10:35 Plenary 1 – [Title TBC] 

• Amanda Millar, Chair of the University of Dundee Court
• Dr Janet Egdell - Registrar General for Scotland and the Keeper of the Records of Scotland 

10:40—11:15 Plenary 2 – The Right to Information and Environmental Information: A User’s Perspective 

• Alex Parsons – MySociety
• Ben Christman – Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland
• [Plenary Speaker TBC]

11:15-11:30 Refreshments

11:30 - 13:10 Practical Seminar Session I (Each seminar will run for 45 minutes, allowing attendees to attend two seminars in this session)

An Introduction to Freedom of Information

• Sean Whittaker – University of Dundee, Centre for Freedom of Information 

Artificial Intelligence and Freedom of Information: A Practical and Theoretical Discussion

• Dr Duncan Weaver – University of Suffolk
• Dr Sean Whittaker - University of Dundee, Centre for Freedom of Information

Effective strategies for handling vexatious/manifestly unreasonable requests

• Dr Karen McCullagh – University of East Anglia

[Seminar Session TBC]

• Fiona Killen – Lawyers specialising in Information Law, Public Law, and Regulatory Procedures

13:10-14:20 Lunch

14:20-16:00 Practical Seminar Session II (Each seminar will run for 45 minutes, allowing attendees to attend two seminars in this session)

WhatsApp? Record Keeping and Freedom of Information 

• Kevin Dunion - University of Dundee, Centre for Freedom of Information
• Claire Stephen - Office of the Scottish Information Commissioner

Confidence and Contracts: Navigating Section 36(2) of FOISA

• Lorraine Currie - Anderson Strathern

Access to Public Sector Data: Why, and How?

• Alex Parson – MySociety
• Roger Halliday – Research Data Scotland

16:00-16:50 Plenary 3 – [Title TBC]

• Dr Jim McGeorge – University Secretary and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Dundee
• David Hamilton – Scottish Information Commissioner

16:50 –16:55 Closing comments

16:55 -18:00 Drinks reception