Feedback wanted at annual government conference, minster says

Tim Johnston urged Manx residents to voice their opinions at the 2023 government conference

The second annual conference on the Manx government's policies is a chance for residents to "say their piece", the enterprise minister said.

Presentations on areas such as housing and renewable energy will feature at the event at the Villa Marina in Douglas over the next two days.

Tim Johnston said while politicians would be delivering updates, they also wanted to hear residents' feedback.

Last year's conference attracted about 1,000 people.

Mr Johnston said the government would continue to evaluate if the two-day event, which cost about £38,000 to stage in 2022, was value for money in future.

If the conference was deemed unsuccessful as too few residents attended then it should "quite rightly" be stopped, however the government was "nowhere near making that decision yet", he said.

The government spent £38,000 staging the 2022 event, which attracted 1,000 people

The conference, which starts at 18:00 BST, will focus on the themes of housing, education and finance and budgets.

The evening session, brought about following feedback from the inaugural 2022 conference, will see question-and-answer sessions with the chief minster, treasury minister and health minister.

The event, which also runs all day on Thursday, also features guest speakers on international trade, town planning and the merits of establishing a housing association.

Mr Johnston said the government had set out "clear pathways" with the Island Plan and Economic Strategy but feedback gathered at the conference would help "shape how we get there".

He encouraged residents to attend and share their opinions with elected officials at the free event, which he said should be a "two-way street" for questions to be asked of politicians and for them to provide updates.

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