Registration has opened for the Disclosure and Barring Service Annual Conference 2026, a free two-day virtual event scheduled for 6 and 7 October 2026. According to the DBS announcement, the conference is intended to bring together the safeguarding community to share expertise and improve protection outcomes. The significance lies less in the event format than in the programme itself. The agenda places legislative change, recruitment controls, information governance and partnership working in one forum, reflecting how safeguarding policy is increasingly being shaped across organisational boundaries rather than within single services.
The first day is centred on safeguarding, legislative change and partnership working. Sessions are due to cover mandatory reporting, safer recruitment, barring decision-making and the part played by effective partnerships in protecting children and vulnerable adults. That framing matters for employers, local services and voluntary sector bodies alike. Recruitment checks, referrals, escalation routes and inter-agency working are not treated as separate compliance tasks; the programme suggests they are being discussed as connected parts of public protection practice.
The second day shifts towards information sharing, digital transformation and public protection. The published outline includes sessions on safeguarding adults, the DBS Strategy, customer experience and the role of regulators in supporting safer recruitment and safeguarding. This moves the discussion from frontline decision-making to system design and delivery. In practice, questions about how information is handled, how digital services are used and how regulators set expectations can affect the consistency and speed of safeguarding responses.
DBS says the speaker line-up will include Dr Gillian Fairfield, Chair of the organisation, and Dr Jeff James CBE, its Chief Executive. The event will also feature keynote speeches, interactive workshops, panel discussions, fireside chats and live question-and-answer sessions. The mix of formats indicates that the conference is intended to do more than issue top-down messages. It creates space for operational questions and for comparison between policy intent and day-to-day practice, which is often where safeguarding arrangements are tested.
Partner organisations include the Information Commissioner's Office and the Ann Craft Trust, which are expected to contribute sessions on regulation, data and safeguarding adults. Their inclusion is notable because lawful information sharing and adult safeguarding remain recurring pressure points across public, private and voluntary settings. By bringing regulators and specialist bodies into the programme, DBS is signalling that safer recruitment and barring policy sit alongside broader duties on data handling, governance and institutional accountability.
The conference is open to anyone working in or with an interest in safeguarding, including people from statutory services, voluntary organisations and partner agencies. The virtual format should widen access for practitioners and managers who may not be able to attend an in-person event. The full two-day agenda and registration details are available on the DBS Conference 2026 page, with further updates to be issued through DBS on LinkedIn. For safeguarding leads, HR teams, trustees and commissioning bodies, the event offers a concentrated view of the policy and operational issues likely to shape recruitment and protection practice through the coming year.