The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council is an intergovernmental body in the United Kingdom that consists of the UK prime minister and the heads of the three national devolved governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.[1]
.jpg) Keir Starmer meets leaders of devolved governments in October 2024 | |
| Predecessor | Joint Ministerial Committee |
|---|---|
| Formation | 10 November 2022 |
| Legal status | Intergovernmental body |
| Purpose | Intergovernmental relations |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Membership | |
Chair | Keir Starmer |
| Website | Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council |
History
editIn 1999, devolved administrations were created in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by the United Kingdom parliament.[2] Initially a Joint Ministerial Committee system was created in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour UK government to coordinate relationships between the three new governments and the UK government.[3]
In 2022, following a review into intergovernmental relations in the UK, the present tiered system of governance was put in place.[4] The tiered structure includes a Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council as a top tier, portfolio-specific interministerial standing committees as a middle tier and topic-based intergovernmental groups as the lower tier.[5][6][7]
Responsibilities
editThe council is responsible for:
- Discussing UK-level policies that require cooperation.
- Overseeing the other government organisations and mechanisms within the tiers of intergovernmental relations.
- Acting as final arbiter for the UK dispute resolution mechanism.[8]
Membership
editThe members of the council are the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the First Minister of Scotland, the First Minister of Wales and the First and deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland. Additionally, other ministers from the UK government may participate in meetings of the council. In the absence of a Northern Ireland Executive, officials from the Northern Ireland Civil Service have participated in an observer capacity.[9][10]
The membership of the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council is as follows:
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Meetings
editThe council met for the first time in November 2022 chaired by Rishi Sunak. No further meetings were held until after the 2024 United Kingdom general election when newly elected prime minister Keir Starmer convened a meeting in October 2024. Starmer has stated that the council will meet again in Spring 2025.[9]
List of meetings
edit| Meetings of the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date | Location | Chair |
| 10 November 2022 | Blackpool | Rishi Sunak |
| 11 October 2024 | Edinburgh | Keir Starmer |
Complimentary bodies
editIn 2022, the Labour Party published a report on constitutional reform proposals by Gordon Brown titled A New Britain: Renewing our Democracy and Rebuilding our Economy. A chapter of the report was dedicated to the matter of improving intergovernmental relations and devolution. One proposal was for the formation of a "Council of the UK", which would bring together the UK prime minister and the heads of the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to manage relations and coordinate efforts between the four governments. Another proposal was for a “Council of the Nations and Regions” to bring together the UK prime minister, leaders of the devolved administrations, the Mayor of London and leaders of England's combined authorities.
The Council of the Nations and Regions was established in October 2024 by Keir Starmer acting on Gordon Brown’s 2022 proposals. This forum is intended to complement rather than replace the existing system of intergovernmental relations between the UK's four governments.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Intergovernmental relations". Institute for Government. November 4, 2022.
- ^ "What is devolution and how does it work in the UK?". BBC News. 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
- ^ "Devolution: Joint Ministerial Committee | The Institute for Government". www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk. 11 December 2017.
- ^ "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council communiqué 10 November 2022". GOV.UK (Press release). Retrieved 2022-11-29.
- ^ "New forum for talks between leaders from across UK". BBC News. January 13, 2022.
- ^ "Review of intergovernmental relations (HTML)". GOV.UK (Press release).
- ^ "Intergovernmental relations within the UK - House of Lords Library".
- ^ Pooran, Neil (January 13, 2022). "Boris Johnson to chair council of UK's devolved administration leaders". Belfast Telegraph.
- ^ a b "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Meeting communiqué 11 October 2024". GOV.UK (Press release).
- ^ "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council Communiqué - 10 November 2022 (HTML)". GOV.UK.