AN ISLANDS forum for islanders to work together and give feedback directly to the Government is to be set up as part of “levelling-up” plans.

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, announced the new forum last week, although department officials said that it was still in the “very early stages of development”, and that there were no details on whether faith communities would be invited to take part.

The forum will not cover the Channel Islands, or the Isle of Man, which are self-governing Crown dependencies, but will include islands around Scotland and Wales, as well as the Isle of Wight and the Scilly Isles.

The diocese of Truro, which covers the Isles of Scilly, said that any initiative that helps central government to recognise the issues of connectivity and infrastructure for islands and island communities would be welcomed.