Blog

• Leah Farrell

Registration is now open!

Plans for a virtual LDC Conference on Saturday 25 July are now well underway. The day will incorporate much of what is core to Conference - the discussion of motions, the opportunity to hear about the latest developments in dental politics and debate with key figures in the profession, and indeed to network with colleagues from across the UK.
The below provides a summary on the registration process and the deadlines for motions and nominations.
Action required by Wednesday 1 July

Motions

This year is exceptional in that a virtual conference has been convened at pace, and the time
available to consider motions is shorter than in “normal “ years. Notwithstanding the shortened timeframe we are confident that LDCs will be able to confer and will have many burning issues to raise in the form of motions for debate.

We request that motions are submitted by Wednesday 1 July.

The agenda committee is acutely aware that events are moving very quickly and accept you
may want to leave submission motions until nearer the deadline. Motions of an urgent nature may be admitted for debate nearer the date of conference at the discretion of the Conference Chair.

We recommend looking at the ‘Contribute’ section of the website where there is
plenty of guidance on how to effectively prepare and then propose a motion.

Once motions are confirmed, proposers will be contacted by the organising team to arrange the video recording of their motion. Video recording in advance (e.g. using a camera on your phone) is the preferred method as it will allow for smoother running of the conference on the day. If you are not able to record your speech in advance you will be able speak live. Please note the proposer must be available to attend and engage on the day of the Conference and has the right to reply to any debate that arises.

Proposal of motions may not exceed three minutes in length. The time allowed for reply is one minute.

Nominations

To help with the revised format for this year, nominations for the positions outlined below must be submitted in advance using the online nomination forms available on the website. It will not be possible to nominate ‘from the floor’.
Elections will take place for the following seven positions:

1. Chair elect of conference
2. Honorary treasurer
3. Two honorary auditors
4. One representative to GDPC
5. One representative to the board of managers of the British Dental Guild
6. One representative to the Conference Agenda Committee

Information about what each of the roles entails can be found on the website here.

All nominations must be received by Wednesday 1 July.

Registration process

As usual the Conference is open to nominated LDC representatives and members of the BDA General Dental Practice Committee.
The conference will be hosted on Zoom, and all LDCs representative and GDPC members must register in advance (booking via the LDC Conference website) to ensure they receive their unique access links which will be distributed with final papers (due out Saturday 18 July).

Click here to book your place

How many people can my LDC send?

If you are unsure how many people your LDC can register for the Conference, you can check the list of permitted Representatives for each LDC here.
Where an LDC is entitled to send a sole Representative, they are also permitted to send an accompanying (permitted Observer).

Special observer places – for newcomers!

Our achievements from conference benefit younger members of our profession more than anyone. We are therefore very keen to encourage more younger dentists to attend. To this end, in addition to the normal allocation of conference places each LDC is able to register one special observer.
This is a unique opportunity for newcomers to immerse themselves in dental politics and hopefully launch a career-long interest. These special overseer places are reserved for those who are new to dental representation, first time conference goers and in the first decades of their career.
If an LDC has someone who meets this criterion, their Secretary can register a newcomer to Conference online selecting ‘LDC Special Observer’ as the ticket type.

Further assistance or questions

If you have a question regarding your motion submission or nomination please contact Alexandra Cenic This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 
If you require assistance regarding your registration for the Conference please contact Fiona Feltham (Events Manager) This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Leah Farrell

Message from the Chair of LDC Conference

I am writing to advise you that the LDC Conference Agenda committee held a virtual meeting this morning to discuss the future of this year's conference.  As you know this is currently scheduled to take place in November.

 We are naturally frustrated with the uncertainty of the situation that we all find ourselves in but the possibility of facilitating a conference in November is looking increasingly doubtful. 

The Committee, with regret, unanimously voted to cancel the event - to avoid spending time organising a face- to-face event which almost certainly would not take place.

We are however planning to run a virtual Conference - which will incorporate much of what is core to Conference - the discussion of motions, the opportunity to hear about the latest developments in dental politics and debate with key figures in the profession, and indeed to network with colleagues from across the UK.

This virtual Conference is scheduled to take place on Saturday 25 July and Fiona Feltham, our event organiser will be sending more detail through in due course.

Leah Farrell

LDC Conference Chair

• Leah Farrell

LDC Conference 2020 (4 and 5 June 2020) – POSTPONED

Due to the current situation regarding Covid-19, this year’s LDC Conference and Dinner due to take place in Brighton on the 4 and 5 June will be postponed.

Update April 2:
Closing date for registration, motions and nominations is now Friday 2 October.

The event will instead be held on Thursday 26 and Friday 27 November 2020 – same place, different dates! We are in the process of confirming the finer details and we will share more information as soon as we have it.

With LDC Conference taking place in late November, there will be no dedicated LDC Officials’ day this year.

For those who have already officially booked their places for the event

Conference registrations, dinner tickets and hotel bookings will automatically be transferred to the new November dates.

For those who have already booked travel

It is requested that anyone who has already booked travel to the event, initially seeks to alter their booking or where necessary requests a refund from the rail or flight operator. In the instance that individuals are denied reimbursement;

• LDC Representatives and Observers should complete a claim form and submit this with receipts to Pete Hodgkinson, Conference Treasurer This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
• GDPC members should seek reimbursement from the BDA by completing a GDPC member claim form and submitting this with receipts to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Special travel expense claim forms are available here:

• LDC Representative and Observers
• GDPC members

Further details will be circulated in due course, in the meantime if you have urgent queries please direct these to our event manager, Fiona Feltham This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

• Leah Farrell

I am very much looking forward to welcoming you all to LDC Conference at the Grand Hotel Brighton on 4-5 June. We promise to complement our time-honoured tradition of debate, with innovation and new insights to enable us to shape the future of dentistry.

Motions

It is time for all LDCs to start thinking about writing and submitting motions. Your motions are crucial to the debate, they are the voice of the grassroots and point the direction, so GDPC can fight for the desperately needed improvements for our profession.

To assist in deciding which motions your LDC will propose, this year we have produced a catalogue of all motions carried in the last three years. This will show you what has been most important to dentists recently. You can also review the footage from the last two years here.

Because motions are intended to give direction for GDPC policy please find here a list of existing GDPC polices. This outlines how GDPC has acted on motions carried at previous conferences and how much they have achieved on our behalf.

The LDC Conference website provides lots of advice on composing motions and how to make an active contribution to this year’s conference. Don’t miss the opportunity to exercise your right to speak out!

We will be continuing with the format set last year for submitting motions with a narrative. The intention being to provide delegates with enough information to form a view and be prepared in advance if they wish to speak for or against on the day.

The closing date to submit motions is Friday 3 April.

Special observer places

Our achievements from conference benefit younger members of our profession more than anyone. We are therefore very keen to encourage more younger dentists to attend. To this end, in addition to the normal allocation of conference places we are offering 25 special observer places.

This is a unique opportunity for newcomers to immerse themselves in dental politics and hopefully launch a career-long interest. These special overseer places are reserved for those who are new to dental representation, first time conference goers and in the first decades of their career.

If an LDC has someone who meets this criterion, Secretaries can register online selecting ‘LDC Special Observer’ as ticket type. Conference fees are covered by the Conference Fund, with the individual LDC liable for the travel, accommodation and cost of dinner tickets if required.

We will be running an induction event for any new members just before conference starts on the first day. We hope to explain how newcomers can be most effective and to encourage them to take part and make a difference.

The LDC Conference website provides lots more advice on how to contribute.

Childcare

To maximise inclusivity, we are exploring options for childcare provision to assist delegates with young children who may otherwise be unable to attend. Please let us know if you would be interested in finding out more. You can indicate this when registering online for the event, or by contacting our event manager directly This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Elections of members during conference

We will be providing more information this year about the seven key positions elected during the conference. With a better idea of what is required of the roles this should encourage delegates to consider taking on more active roles.

1. Chair elect of conference
2. Honorary treasurer
3. Two honorary auditors
4. One representative to GDPC
5. One representative to the board of managers of the British Dental Guild
6. One representative to the Conference Agenda Committee

Do you know an unsung hero?

We all have members in our LDCs who have worked tirelessly during their professional lives, often in the background never seeking the limelight, giving up many evenings for LDC business, taking valuable time out of their practising careers.

At the LDC Dinner, we give an annual award: ‘Unsung Heroes’. If you have someone like this on your committee who you feel deserves recognition, please consider nominating them.
Further details can be found online here and the closing date for nominations is Friday 3 April.

Keeping it green

We are trying to reduce the amount of paper and single-use plastics at the event. Copies of conference papers will as standard only be made available electronically; if you do require a hardcopy of the documentation you can request this during the online registration process for the event.

Third Annual Golf Competition

This will be taking place on Wednesday 3 June 2020 at Dykes Golf Club. The event is being organised by David Cottam. Further details and a contact form are available here.  

REGISTRATION, TRAVEL AND HOTELS

Registering for the event

Conference places and dinner tickets should be booked online. Closing date Friday 3 April
(Please be ready to enter individual email addresses and GDC numbers for all Conference attendees. Non-GDC registrants should enter ‘N/A’)

How many people can my LDC send?

If you are unsure how many people your LDC can register for the Conference, you can check the list of permitted Representatives for each LDC here.

Where an LDC is entitled to send a sole Representative, they are also permitted to send an accompanying Observer. The conference fees for this permitted Observer will be covered, however the LDC is responsible for funding travel and accommodation expenses.

Plus, as highlighted earlier, in addition to the usual allocation of places we have some places reserved for Special LDC Observers – (this special ticket type must be booked via LDC Secretaries and is for those who are new to dental representation, first time conference goers and in the first decades of their career).

Hotel booking
Book bedrooms before 3 April. Details of how are available here.

Travel and expenses
Information about travel arrangements and expense claiming can be also found on the website.

Further information and queries

Please contact our event manager, Fiona Feltham (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) should you have any questions about registration or the arrangements for the event.

I look forward to seeing you in Brighton!

Leah Farrell

Chair, Annual Conference of LDCs 2020