Poverty has been the subject of great discussion in the UK in recent months, but there is little debate about the issue here in the Isle of Man. Is poverty a major social problem here? That’s one of the questions being posed at a conference organised by The Children’s Centre on November 30 at The Sefton Hotel. Entitled ‘Is there poverty and neglect on the Isle of Man?’, the conference will include contributions from experts on both issues. President of Tynwald Clare Christian MLC, and Jo Fox, Children’s Services Consultant to the Isle of Man Government, will chair the debate which will be attended by a wide-ranging panel of Island experts including Stephen Carse, the Isle of Man Government’s Economic Adviser, and Jo Thomas, Head of Safeguarding at the Department of Social Care. Keynote speakers at the conference are Patrick Ayre and Richard McCann. Mr Ayre has more than 30 years’ experience working in child protection and child welfare. He was a social worker and a child protection services manager for 17 years before becoming a researcher and lecturer at the University of Luton (which is now the University of Bedfordshire). He is co-author of the influential book ‘Children’s Services at the Crossroads’. Mr McCann is a motivational speaker who encourages people to look at life differently, helping them to take a leap that will change their lives for good and make a real difference in the world. He speaks of his personal experience of coping with the death of his mother who was murdered when Mr McCann was just five-years-old. As well as speaking at the conference, Mr McCann will be giving talks at the Isle of Man College and six schools across the Island. He will also be speaking at dinner hosted by the Chartered Institute of Management and the Institute of Directors. The conference will be opened by John Knight, Chief Executive of The Children’s Centre. He said: “The aim of the conference is to debate whether or not poverty and neglect are major issues on the Island. How do we define poverty and neglect and what processes are in place - or should be in place - to produce data which can be used to assess how many families in the Isle of Man are affected by these issues? Finding answers to some or all of these questions will be a major focus of the debate, but more than anything we want the conference to be the starting point for a wider debate about these issues.” Places at the conference - which is at The Sefton Hotel from 2pm to 5pm on Wednesday November 30 - are limited, so anyone interested in attending is urged to book as soon as possible. You can book online at www.thechildrenscentre.org.im or by emailing janicejohnson@thechildrenscentre.org.im or by calling 01624 676076. Bookings close on November 4. - ENDS -