This year's government conference will be 'more focussed' and hopes to target the business community, according to the Cabinet Office Minister.
Around 500 people have signed up for the annual event so far.
It's being held at the Comis Hotel this year - moving away from the Villa Marina which has been used in previous years.
Kate Lord-Brennan has defended the decision not to host the event in the evenings or over the weekend, saying there are other opportunities to speak to the Island's highest-ranking politicians:
Hi there, I'm Larris Foster, a journalist in the Manx Radio Newsroom, and thank you for choosing this edition of the Manx Radio Newscast. A week today, the third Ironman government conference will get underway at the Comis Hotel. In previous years, it's been held at the Villa Marina in Douglas, and the lack of public transport routes to the new venue, and the fact it's taking place during the day in the middle of the working week, has come in for criticism. Cabinet Office Minister Kate Lord Brennan joined myself and Ben, live on Manx Radio Breakfast this morning, to address some of those concerns. There is, I think, much more detailed than previous years, and it's been developed really for a business focus, but actually, Inc, it really does contain topics of interest for the wider public, and I think will give government the chance to explain how these matters are being addressed and what progress is being made. So some of the key topics are around island security, immigration, migration, the future of public services, as well as the things that you would, I think, come to expect from the government conference, which are the updates from the Chief Minister and the Treasury Minister and the Minister for Department for Enterprise, as well, but I really encourage people to look at the full agenda, which is online at the Ironman government conference websites so people can attend individual sessions, or they can come for the whole day on each of the days. It runs from 8am till 5pm. The big question, as far as attendees are concerned, why has the decision been taken to move this event to the Comis Hotel? I think we always decided that we would reflect on how the particular space for the government conference was working. We have got a pair down focus this year. You'd be able to see from people of attended previously that we've got one stage basically instead of having multiple things going on at one time that allowed us to have a different sort of venue, and just to sort of change how we're doing things, and actually I'm confident it will work really well, and I would really encourage people to come along. If they can't come along, they can also watch the sessions that will be videoed and posted online afterwards. It's likely, I suppose, that they won't be able to come along. Last year, we did have an evening session. This year, it's just two daytime sessions. We have had someone on the text saying, "Not everyone has the luxury of being able to take time out of their working week to attend the government conference. Why not an evening? Or weekend?" Well, if you think back to some of the things that we did after Easter this year, when the Council of Ministers actually went out on a roadshow really in different parts of the island, that was held on four nights, one after the other in different parts of the island purely in the evening. At the time of the announce that roadshow, which will also take place again in spring next year, we were looking ahead already to this government conference, which it's been developed really in discussions with business, and I think that in many respects for people that are wanting to engage in that way, it's perfectly fine and acceptable to have that in the working day. We will do the Council of Ministers Roadshows, which are likely to be in the evening again next year. You need to try and get things focused for different people, but you need to deliver a full agenda, and that's what's provided in this conference with a range of topics. There's been a lot of feedback about the government conference in terms of weekend sessions. Do you listen to feedback from the public about the event from the last couple of years? Do you take those thoughts on board? We do reflect on the feedback, we reflect on the attendance, we think about how to structure the agenda and the venue in light of the specific focus on topics, and we do take account of that. I think that's why it's helpful that we've got the two different events. We've got the Roadshow again next year, but this year, business-focused, Comas Hotel, eight or five next Tuesday and Wednesday, people can register or they can turn up on the day. How are numbers looking at the moment, Minister? They're looking good. I think the latest figures that I've been given is that there's sort of well over 250, I think, for the first day, and getting beyond that as well for the second day. They're going up each day. Last year, around 750 people attended over the two days, that is less than 1% of the island's population. What has government done over the last year to try to attract more people to the conference? I think that we do think about how to make, this is really about actually the public having chance to talk to ministers and find out about what government is doing and about the different issues that the island may be dealing with in terms of challenges and opportunities. There's clearly different ways of that happening. The fact that this is less than 1% of the island's population, the people who attended last year, do you think that shows people that disengage with government at the moment? I think that you can't expect there to be full and high attendance at every single point of engagement that the government offers, there was really high attendance, too, at the events run in April. I think there'll be good attendance for this event, specifically for the business community. There are things that you can do to help people attend these conferences, though, and accessibility has been a major point. People are saying, "Boss roots to the comb is quite difficult." Yes, there's ample parking for motorists who have the ability to get there. Have those been public transport users been kept in mind? We have one text here. It says, "The decision to move the conference to the comis is disgusting, quite frankly." What can we do to encourage more people to come? If anybody has got any concerns about transport to the comis, then what they can do is they can visit the website also. They can get in touch with contact iomgc@gov.im if they've got any queries or questions or need some assistance in terms of getting from where they're going from to the comis. Perhaps if they need to get from the bus stop to the comis, then that can be arranged by contacting that email address. Emailed in earlier to say, "Actually, you talk about active travel." That's always a really big thing we hear the government talking about. We should encourage people to engage in active travel more, but actually, who's able to walk to the comis hotel? Very few people, I would imagine. Actually, I would say that there are some pretty big and serious issues that the government has things that we want to talk to the public about and also that the public want to ask ministers about. Those sort of serious topics are on the agenda. They are the main thing. We are always conscious of value and how people get from the events that government holds. That's why there is that option if people want to, if they've got concerns, they can get in touch. Certainly, the point of the agenda is having a chance to talk about the serious issues of the day and how government is dealing with them. That's the main thing, really. Last year, the Alaman Government Conference costs in the region of £40,000 to stage with 750 attendees. That was at the Villa Marina. What are the predicted costs this year? They are predicted to be lower. There is a focus across the government to have value for money and a strong focus on public finances. It's actually also one of the topics at the conference agenda. We always do have a kind of value and what is going to work best and the public finances is one of the points that we'll be talked about as well as the future of public services on the Isle of Man. That's on the agenda. So lower costs we think this year, even though it's now at a private venue as opposed to a government run venue like the Villa Marina the last couple of years. It's a much more focused down set up for the conference this year. Can I ask you about Government Transparency Minister, because we heard about those bus cancellations over the weekend, Isle of Man Transport said it was down to operational issues. We've contacted Government Saturday, Sunday and yesterday to get more clarity, more details on what those issues are. One of your fellow MHK's Joni Farrega has posted a Tim Hall written question and has written direct to the Infrastructure Minister and members, because there's a lot of speculation on social media about exactly what these issues are. So when it comes to Transparency, I know you're not Infrastructure, but you are part of Co-Min. Does this show that Government are being transparent? Well, I think that when the Department of Infrastructure are able to come forward, there's something more specific about that issue they will do. I'd also say that actually every year and certainly twice this year already, your Ministers and Government officials are making themselves directly available to the public to address things in Q&A-style situations, to talk informally, and that's the sort of direct engagement that is also important, as well as addressing specific operational issues. How valuable are those Q&A sessions in particular, because it can get quite lively. Of course, it's all unfiltered. What do you take from that and the feedback that came last year? Well, I think it's important actually, because you're often dealing with points about Government policy or concerns about progress and what's happening next. Now, if you think about it, Ministers get asked questions in tin, waltz, and keys. MHKs are out there talking to their constituents, using their constituents capacity. So what are the sort of event or interaction allows the public to discuss directly with Ministers and Government officials? Not just the issues of the day, but those affecting the island longer term. And I think that sort of direct engagement is really wonderful, so you can see, yes, they may get sort of quite heated, because I think Ministers care and the public care, right? So that is all okay that that plays out in that forum, and actually I think it would be a shame if we didn't have that. You saw how packed the Q&A sessions were last time. Every time there's something like this, not only do Ministers sort of reflect and take on board the points, but also usually when you've got a conference or something like that coming up, it does also provide momentum for perhaps key announcements that Government may wish to make or communicate to the Government that they're focusing on. Will there be any key announcements that you can give us a hint on that? Yeah, it's okay. You have to wait and see. Assembly Minister, do you yourself look forward to events like this? Do you embrace this opportunity? I do. There's something about the road shows as well that happened in April, and when you've got a conference agenda that you're thinking, yes, okay, I'm confident that it's the sort of agenda that the public, and certainly we know this already from businesses, they're interested in its topics that are important across the board in different ways, also gives a level of engagement by the workshops that are carried out, there's one sort of honing the proposition of the Isle of Man, there's another one on the future of public services. This stuff matters, so I am looking forward to it, and I hope that people can look at the agenda and attend, and they can register to do that on the website and get in touch if they've got the sorts of queries that I've mentioned. Thank you for making it to the end of the Manxeradian Newscast. You are obviously someone with exquisite taste. 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