Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom

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In the United Kingdom, intergovernmental relations refers to the relationship, cooperation, and engagement between the UK Government and the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern Ireland Executive.^[1]

Since powers were devolved in the late 1990s from the UK Parliament to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, there have been various bodies and forums to facilitate relations between the four governments and their officials.^[1]

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.^[2] In addition to the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council, portfolio-specific Interministerial Standing Committees (IMSC) and Interministerial Groups (IMG) were established.^[3][4]

In 1999, devolved administrations were created in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by the United Kingdom parliament.^[5]

Joint Ministerial Committee

Meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee in October 2016
Abbreviation	JMC
Successor	Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
Formation	1999; 25 years ago (1999)
Dissolved	10 November 2022; 1 year ago (2022-11-10)
Legal status	Joint committee
Purpose	Intergovernmental relations
Region served	United Kingdom
Website	Joint Ministerial Committee

The Joint Ministerial Committee was created in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour government,^[6] 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:^[7]

• 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.

Before it was replaced, the membership of the JMC Plenary (JMC(P)) was:

• Prime Minister and Minister for the Union, who acts as chair of the JMC.
• Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
• First Minister of Scotland
• First Minister of Wales
• First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland^[8]

The following were also permitted to attend sessions of the JMC:

• Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom or First Secretary of State (if in office)
• The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• The secretaries of state for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Other Secretaries of State when issues relating to their remit are discussed.

Since its creation in 1999, there had been several different JMC meeting formats.^[6] Since 2010, there have been four types: plenary, Europe, domestic and European negotiations (created following the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum^[9][10]).

The JMC Plenary meetings were intended to occur at least once every year. However, no plenary meetings were held between 2002 and 2008.^[6] 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.^[11] However, following the Scottish National Party's victory at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election this was no longer the case. So JMC Plenary meetings were re-established, though on an ad hoc basis.^[6]

Under proposals outlined by Theresa May in October 2016, the JMC Plenary was to meet on a definite annual basis and would have rotated between London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast. 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.^[12][13] However, these proposals were vetoed by Sinn Féin's Martin McGuinness.^[12]

The last JMC Plenary was convened by Theresa May on 19 December 2018. Although after he became Prime Minister in July 2019, Boris Johnson announced his intention to hold a JMC Plenary meeting as soon as possible,^[14] however this did not occur, and the 19 December 2018 meeting remained the final plenary.

On 20 January 2020, the Constitution Committee within the House of Lords published a report outlining how the UK Government could improve intergovernmental relations.^[15][16] 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.^[17][18][19]

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.^[20]

Members

Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
Name	Representing	Council Position
Keir Starmer	United Kingdom	Chair
John Swinney	Scotland	Member
Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely	Wales	Member
Michelle O'Neill Emma Little-Pengelly	Northern Ireland	Member

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.^[21]

There are currently two active intergovernmental committees.^[22]

There are currently 7 active intergovernmental groups^[22]

There are six different mechanisms involved in intergovernmental relations in order to avoid disputes between the UK Government and the devolved governments.^[23] 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".^[24]

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.^[25]

The IGR Council is the final arbiter in any disputes.^{[26][failed verification]}

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.^[27]

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.^[28]

The East–West Council was established in March 2024 as part of the Northern Ireland Executive reformation to improve links between Northern Ireland and rest of the United Kingdom.^[29]

The Mayoral Council, an England only body chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, brings together ministers from the UK government with the Mayor of London, and mayors of England's combined authorities. It met for the first time on 10 October 2024 and meets four times a year.^[30]

The Council of the Nations and Regions, established by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on 11 October 2024, which brings together the Prime Minister of the United Kingdomand other ministers from the UK central government with the First Minister of Scotland, First Minister of Wales, First and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mayor of London, and mayors of English combined authorities.^[31]

The Local Government Leaders' Council brings together the Deputy Prime Minister and leaders of representative bodies of local government in the United Kingdom. It met for the first time on 24 October 2024 and is expected to meet four times a year.^[32][33][34]

• Council of the Nations and Regions, Mayoral Council for England
• British–Irish Council, North/South Ministerial Council, East–West Council, UK–Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council
• Interparliamentary Forum, British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly, North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association
• Minister for Intergovernmental Relations
• Executive federalism

• GOV.UK: Intergovernmental Relations
• Devolution of powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Memorandum of understanding and supplementary agreement