Interministerial Standing Committee
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In the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, intergovernmental relations refers to the relationship, cooperation, and engagement between the
UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
and the
Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
,
Welsh Government The Welsh Government ( ) is the Executive (government), executive arm of the Welsh devolution, devolved government of Wales. The government consists of Cabinet secretary, cabinet secretaries and Minister of State, ministers. It is led by the F ...
and
Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...
. Since powers were devolved in the late 1990s from the
UK Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...
to
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, there have been various bodies and forums to facilitate relations between the four governments and their officials. The first of these, the Joint Ministerial Committee (JMC), was established in 1999. Its members were primarily the heads of the four devolved administrations, as well as some other relevant ministers. The body saw multiple periods where it did not meet for years, such as from 2002–2008, and again from 2018. It was eventually disbanded. The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, established in 2022, is the body where the heads of the four governments currently meet. In addition to the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, portfolio-specific Interministerial Standing Committees (IMSC) and Interministerial Groups (IMG) were established.


Background

In 1999, devolved administrations were created in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
by the United Kingdom parliament.


Joint Ministerial Committee (1999–2022)

The Joint Ministerial Committee was created in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour government, and sought to act as a focus for the coordination of the relationships between the four administrations. The terms of reference for the JMC were: *To consider non-devolved matters which impinge on devolved responsibilities, and devolved matters which impinge on non-devolved responsibilities. *Where the UK government and the devolved administrations so agree, to consider devolved matters if it is beneficial to discuss their respective treatment in different parts of the UK. *To keep the arrangements for liaison between the UK government and the devolved administrations under review. *To consider disputes between the administrations.


Membership

Before it was replaced, the membership of the JMC Plenary (JMC(P)) was: *
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
and
Minister for the Union The Minister for the Union is a position in the United Kingdom which is held concurrently with the post of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister. History The position was created by Boris Johnson during his first Johnson minis ...
, who acts as chair of the JMC. *
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government The secretary of state for housing, communities and local government is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom and is the Cabinet minister responsible for the overall leadership and strategic direction of the Ministry of Ho ...
, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations *
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...
*
First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...
* First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland The following were also permitted to attend sessions of the JMC: *
Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom is an honorific title given to a minister of the Crown and a member of the British Cabinet, normally to signify a very senior minister, the deputy leader of the governing party, or a key political ...
or
First Secretary of State First Secretary of State is an office that is sometimes held by a minister of the Crown Minister of the Crown is a formal constitutional term used in Commonwealth realms to describe a minister of the reigning sovereign or viceroy. The term ...
(if in office) *The
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The secretary of state for foreign, commonwealth and development affairs, also known as the foreign secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, Government of the United Kingdo ...
*The secretaries of state for
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
. * Other Secretaries of State when issues relating to their remit are discussed.


Meetings

Since its creation in 1999, there had been several different JMC meeting formats. Since 2010, there have been four types: plenary, Europe, domestic and European negotiations (created following the
2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum The 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, commonly referred to as the EU referendum or the Brexit referendum, was a referendum that took place on 23 June 2016 in the United Kingdom (UK) and Gibraltar under the provisions o ...
). The JMC Plenary meetings were intended to occur at least once every year. However, no plenary meetings were held between 2002 and 2008. This was primarily because the UK, Scotland, and Wales governments were all controlled by the Labour Party, and as such ministers from the central and devolved governments could quickly and easily use informal links to coordinate policy. However, following the Scottish National Party's victory at the
2007 Scottish Parliament election The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999. 2007 Scottish local elections, ...
this was no longer the case. So JMC Plenary meetings were re-established, though on an ad hoc basis. Under proposals outlined by
Theresa May Theresa Mary May, Baroness May of Maidenhead (; ; born 1 October 1956), is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served as Home Secretar ...
in October 2016, the JMC Plenary was to meet on a definite annual basis and would have rotated between
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
,
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
and
Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
. It would have also published an annual report on its work and hoped to foster greater formal and informal links between ministers from each (devolved) government. However, these proposals were vetoed by Sinn Féin's
Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minist ...
. The last JMC Plenary was convened by Theresa May on 19 December 2018. Although after he became Prime Minister in July 2019,
Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He wa ...
announced his intention to hold a JMC Plenary meeting as soon as possible, however this did not occur, and the 19 December 2018 meeting remained the final plenary.


Tiered governance (2022–present)

On 20 January 2020, the
Constitution Committee The Constitution Committee is a cross-party select committee of the House of Lords, the upper chamber of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The committee's remit is "to examine the constitutional implications of all public bills coming befo ...
within the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
published a report outlining how the UK Government could improve intergovernmental relations. In 2022, the UK Government and devolved governments came to an agreement on the intergovernmental relations in the UK that saw the creation of the tiered governance system.


Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council

The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council consists of the UK prime minister and the heads of the UK‘s three national devolved governments. ;Remit The council is responsible for: * Discussing UK-level policies that require cooperation. * Overseeing the other government organisations and mechanisms within the other tiers. * Acting as final arbiter for the UK dispute resolution mechanism. ;Members


Interministerial Standing Committees

The Interministerial Standing Committee is led by the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and is responsible for discussing areas of cooperation that cannot be discussed at the Portfolio Committee, the committee will have representatives from central government and the three devolved nations and aim to meet monthly. There are currently two active intergovernmental committees.


Interministerial Groups

There are currently 7 active intergovernmental groups


Dispute resolution mechanism

There are six different mechanisms involved in intergovernmental relations in order to avoid disputes between the UK Government and the devolved governments. Whilst the Scottish Government and Welsh Government welcomed the changes to intergovernmental relations within the United Kingdom which were implemented in 2022, both governments were critical regarding the UK Government's "attitude towards engagement with the devolved administrations at times". The review into intergovernmental relations concluded that the governments of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were “committed to promoting collaboration and the avoidance of disagreements". In any instance that a dispute between any government arises, the IGR Secretariat may have that matter referred to them by the government or governments involved. The IGR Council is the final arbiter in any disputes.


Complementary bodies

Several other bodies and forums have also been established to enhance relations between national, devolved and local governments in the UK. These bodies are not exclusively intergovernmental, as they include representatives of English combined authorities, the Greater London Authority and local authorities (which are not governments). They are intended to complement rather than replace the existing tiered system of intergovernmental relations between the UK's four governments. The Inter-Parliamentary Forum was established in February 2022 to bring together members of the two houses of the UK parliament and the devolved parliaments and assemblies. The Islands Forum was established in September 2022 to bring together ministers from the UK government and local government leaders from island communities across the UK. The East–West Council was established in March 2024 as part of the Northern Ireland Executive reformation to improve links between
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and rest of the United Kingdom. The Mayoral Council, an
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
only body chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, brings together ministers from the UK government with the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
, and mayors of
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
's
combined authorities A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local aut ...
. It met for the first time on 10 October 2024 and meets four times a year. The
Council of the Nations and Regions The Council of the Nations and Regions () is a quasi-intergovernmental political body in the United Kingdom. The council's members are the holders of the offices of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom, F ...
, established by UK Prime Minister
Keir Starmer Sir Keir Rodney Starmer (born 2 September 1962) is a British politician and lawyer who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 2024 and as Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party since 2020. He previously ...
on 11 October 2024, which brings together the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister Advice (constitutional law), advises the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign on the exercise of much of the Royal prerogative ...
and other ministers from the UK central government with the
First Minister of Scotland The first minister of Scotland () is the head of government of Scotland. The first minister leads the Scottish Government, the Executive (government), executive branch of the devolved government and is th ...
,
First Minister of Wales The first minister of Wales () is the leader of the Welsh Government and keeper of the Welsh Seal. The first minister chairs the Welsh Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Welsh Government po ...
, First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland,
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...
, and mayors of English
combined authorities A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local aut ...
. The Local Government Leaders' Council brings together the Deputy Prime Minister and leaders of representative bodies of
local government in the United Kingdom Local government in the United Kingdom has origins which pre-date the United Kingdom itself, as each of the four countries of the United Kingdom has its own separate system. For an overview, see Administrative geography of the United Kingdom. For d ...
. It met for the first time on 24 October 2024 and is expected to meet four times a year.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/angela-rayner-deputy-prime-minister-government-local-government-whitehall-b2634990.html


See also

*
Council of the Nations and Regions The Council of the Nations and Regions () is a quasi-intergovernmental political body in the United Kingdom. The council's members are the holders of the offices of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister of the United Kingdom, F ...
,
Mayoral Council for England The Mayoral Council for England is a political body in England that brings together ministers from the UK Government, the Mayor of London, and combined authority Directly elected mayors in England, mayors. History Background David Cameron's p ...
*
British–Irish Council The British–Irish Council (BIC; ) is an intergovernmental organisation that aims to improve collaboration between its members in a number of areas including transport, the environment and energy. Its membership comprises Ireland, the United ...
,
North/South Ministerial Council The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) (, Ulster-Scots: ) is a body established under the Good Friday Agreement to co-ordinate activity and exercise certain governmental powers across the whole island of Ireland. The Council takes the for ...
, East–West Council, UK–Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council * Interparliamentary Forum,
British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly The British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly (BIPA, ) is a deliberative body consisting of members elected to those national legislative bodies found within Ireland and the United Kingdom, namely the parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, S ...
, North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association * Minister for Intergovernmental Relations * Executive federalism


References and notes


External links


GOV.UK: Intergovernmental RelationsDevolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern IrelandMemorandum of understanding and supplementary agreement
{{Devolution in the United Kingdom Devolution in the United Kingdom 1999 establishments in the United Kingdom Executive federalism