Speakers
Paul Simpkins is an accomplished speaker and policymaker in the field of Information Management; being capable of translating complex legislation into easily digestible morsels with over twelve years experience as a Data Protection Officer. He has worked for two of the largest UK Metropolitan Councils as Data Protection Officer and as Senior Policy Officer in the field of Information Governance. Prior to this he was a teacher and lecturer in Business Studies and IT. He was a founder member of and is secretary of the Yorkshire and the Humber Data Protection forum, which started in 1999 and meets quarterly at venues throughout the region and hears speakers and discusses information related issues. He has worked on many information related projects including Member of the Cabinet Office working party on Data Sharing (January 2001); Moderator of NADPO bulletin board 2000 - 2001and has been an examiner and member of the British Computer Society ISEB Examination Panel for their Certificate in Data Protection since 1998 and also for their forthcoming Certificate in Freedom of Information. He has the ISEB Certificate in Data Protection 2003 (Honorary) He contributed to a national project co-ordinated by De Montfort University, Leicester on privacy and data sharing and is a visiting lecturer on these subjects and is on the editorial Board of Open Government - A Journal on Freedom of Information edited by Steve Wood, John Moores University. He attended Ethicomp 1999 in Rome and sat on a panel hosted by the Italian Information Commissioner discussing erosion of privacy in European life and session Chair at Ethicomp 2004 at University of the Aegean at Easter 2004. Paul is a regular speaker at conferences and courses on information issues and is said to be able to bring dry and dusty subjects to life with intriguing and thought provoking presentations. See his personal website at www.paulsimpkins.com Ibrahim Hasan is a UK qualified solicitor with many years of experience of advising and training the public sector on all aspects of information law including data protection, freedom of information and surveillance law. He is a director of Act Now Training and a consultant with IBA Solicitors (www.ibasolicitors.com). Ibrahim produces the UK's first FOI podcast. Ibrahim was previously Principal Solicitor at Calderdale Council and has worked for Bradford Council and Nottinghamshire County Council. He has also held positions as an associate with the Institute of Public Finance and a non executive director of an NHS Trust.Ibrahim is very much in demand as a presenter at courses and conferences throughout the UK. He has conducted training sessions for many national organisations as well as local authorities and the NHS. His notable clients include the Scottish Executive, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, English Partnerships and various government departments. He has even travelled to China to train young Chinese and Hong Kong lawyers on behalf of the Law Society and the Bar Council.Ibrahim acts as an adviser to the Local Government Association and is an examiner for the British Computer Society?s Certificate in Data Protection. He was also on the Home Office Consultation Group for the Freedom of Information Bill. Ibrahim's articles have appeared in many publications including the Local Government Chronicle, Benefits Magazine, IRRV Insight Magazine and Solicitors Journal. He sits on the editorial board for an international journal on freedom of Information entitled ?Open Government? and is a member of the European Information Managers Group (EURIM). Ibrahim has contributed to the privacy law aspects of a book entitled ?Spy TV ? Just who is the digital revolution overthrowing?? which won a Big Brother Award from Privacy International. Ibrahim is currently a guest lecturer at the University of Northumbria's LLM in Information Rights Law and also writes a regular FOI column for the Law Society Gazette. See Ibrahim's personal website : www.informationlaw.org.uk
Philip Jones has been a records and information management professional for over twenty years. He has worked extensively in the UK local government sector and is currently Head of Information Resources for Staffordshire County Council. He has served as Chairman of the Records Management Society (GB) and is currently President of the International Records Management Council. He has been Visiting Professor of Records Management at the University of Northumbria since 2000. Amongst his other professional activities he serves as a Director of the government appointed Information Sector National Training Organisation and is a co-editor of ISO 15489 International Records Management Standard. Philip was voted UK Records Manager of the Year 2000. He has written numerous articles and papers on the subject of records and information management and more lately knowledge management. He has lectured extensively in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia on a wide variety of information related topics. Neil Pitts is an independent consultant and trainer. He has taught SPOC and surveillance law and techniques throughout the country to numerous local authorities, the fire service and trading standards organisations. He also teaches in the fields of intelligence development and IT. Having served 10 years with West Midlands Police in a number of roles Neil left the country for a period of travel. During this time he worked teaching English as a Foreign Language in Japan and got the teaching bug. On returning to England he worked for two years for Derbyshire Constabulary teaching IT and personal safety courses. He has a 7307 City & Guilds in teaching and is currently working towards a Certificate in Education. Hazel Moffatt is a senior associate with Shepherd+ Wedderburn in Edinburgh specialising in public and administrative law, freedom of information and human rights. A former Project Manager with the UK Law Commissions on the DTI sponsored Company Law Review, Hazel is now a leading adviser in Scotland to clients including The Standards Commission for Scotland, the Health & Safety Executive, Audit Scotland and the new Offices of the Scottish Charity Regulator and the Commissioner for Public Appointments. She is also appointed on behalf of her firm to the Scottish Parliament's Specialist Drafting Panel. She has been busy advising clients on freedom of information issues over the last few years, providing training and advice on the new and existing regimes to the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Scottish Enterprise, Visit Scotland, many local authorities and private sector entities such as Miller Construction and Scottish Power. She has also been working with the UK Information Commissioner on aspects of the Scottish freedom of information regime and most recently has been appointed to provide comprehensive training and advice to all staff at the Scottish Parliament. Over the past year she has been a regular speaker on the "FOI circuit" at conferences such as the Westminster Explained lecture series in London alongside Information Minister Lord Filkin, Lord Clark of Windermere, Maurice Frankel and the deputy UK and Irish Information Commissioners. Hazel also tutors at Edinburgh University in public law of the UK and Scotland. Tim Turner was formerly Policy Manager at the Information Commissioner’s Office and more recently Data Protection Officer and Information Security Officer at Derbyshire County Council. Tim is now Data Protection Officer at Wigan Council and speaks on conferences and courses on information issues from the Public sector perspective. Dai Davis is a well known conference speaker and trainer. He is a full time consultant and Head of IT law (north) at city law firm Nabarro Nathanson. Although he is based in Sheffield he also works from Nabarro Nathanson's London office on a weekly basis. Dai advises on general commercial contracts with a special interest in Intellectual property law and technology law subjects. Sam Makkan was called to the Bar of England and Wales in February 1987 and is a member of Lincolns Inn. He is a specialist in criminal law, managing all types of cases in that field with a predominant expertise in prosecution work. In that regard he handles all types of witnesses, be they factual, professional or expert. He himself examines and cross-examines many witnesses in the course of his everyday work. This gives him a unique insight into how witnesses perform and what the common pitfalls are for witnesses. He believes that witnesses must understand the dynamics of forensic, adversarial proceedings if they are to be effective witnesses in a court setting. He also alerts witnesses, in training, to the techniques lawyers may use in court. He is well placed in understanding the dynamics as he also teaches on the practical and advanced level advocacy courses. He teaches advocates how to handle witnesses in examination in chief as well as cross-examination.He has delivered many courses to a wide ranging group of witnesses and potential witnesses who have appeared, or who are likely to appear, in either the civil or criminal courts. The principles and techniques for witnesses in any tribunal are the same. He has tutored all types of witnesses: factual, professional and expert. He has taught them how to handle advocates both in examination in chief and cross-examination! He has tutored many subjects not only in England and Wales, but abroad via interpreters. He tutored in Moscow, via interpreters. He also delivered a training session for a high powered Chinese delegation of lawyers. Members of the delegation were guests of the Foreign Office.His other interest is human rights. He is an author of a book on human rights and has delivered lectures at national conferences, seminars and tutored on courses extensively. He has also written legal articles for journals on aspects of human rights. Alex Gledhill is a solicitor with 13 years experience of the law relating to children both in private practice and in local government. She currently works as manager of a team of social services solicitors for a large West Yorkshire metropolitan authority and teaches law to undergraduate social work students. Paul Golding is the principal of TRG law and was previously a partner at Nabarro Nathanson. Paul has extensive experience of all kinds of commercial contracts involving intellectual property and information technology such as outsourcings, joint ventures, IT procurements and IP licences. Paul is also an expert on matters such as data protection and the rules governing online trading and marketing. TRG law acts for a broad range of clients including a number of public sector bodies. Further details are available at www.TRGlaw.com |
