Chaired by Ewan Aitken, director of Cyrenians, the conference’s agenda is packed with a variety of fantastic speakers and topics. Angela Constance, cabinet secretary for communities, social security and equalities, will deliver the keynote speech to the conference.

We look towards the experiences of our neighbours in Wales and Northern Ireland as we welcome Jennie Bibbings from Shelter Cymru and Nicola McCrudden from CIH Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Jennie will speak about initial service user experiences of the new Welsh prevention legislation and Nicola will consider the impact of a homeless strategy in the unique context of Northern Ireland.

We are also delighted to announce that Karyn McCluskey, chief executive of the newly-formed Community Justice Scotland agency will speak to delegates about the links between housing, homelessness and community justice as well as outline the ways in which housing professionals can engage effectively with the new agency.

Delegates will have the opportunity to attend workshops led by LGBT Youth Scotland, NHS Health Scotland, Shelter Scotland’s Glasgow Participation Project and South Lanarkshire Council, on topics highlighted by our partners as particularly relevant, including youth homelessness experiences, health inequalities and the challenges already being experienced by temporary accommodation providers.

To round off the day, Ewan Aitken will chair a panel discussion involving leading figures in the sector including Tony Cain from ALACHO and Beth Watts from Heriot Watt University to discuss the topic of “A new national homelessness strategy: how do we make tackling homelessness a public policy priority?”

To register visit the Shelter Scotland website. Early bird price until 31st January 2017.