The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016: How to enforce it and does it need to be strengthened?

The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016: How to enforce it and does it need to be strengthened?

How can we use lobbying laws to challenge the influence of big businesses and wealthy individuals in politics? Are our lobbying laws strong enough to prevent corruption?

The Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 requires information to be published about who is influencing our politicians and other government officials.

Public records tell us that corporate representatives dominate lobbying meetings. Their efforts are working: oil and gas companies are trying to block a just transition to net zero, while industry lobbying successfully delayed the deposit return scheme and erased ultra-processed foods from the Good Food Nation Act.

Join us to hear about how to enforce our existing lobbying laws and discuss whether they need to be strengthened. Our panel of experts monitoring and investigating lobbying are:

• Ian Bruce, Ethical Standards Commissioner
• James Drummond, Assistant Lobbying Registrar, Lobbying Register Team, Scottish Parliament
• Ric Lander, Friends of the Earth Scotland
• Juliet Swann, Transparency International