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]

Background

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

Joint Ministerial Committee (1999–2022)

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. It was established in 1999 and superseded by the Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council in 2022.

The membership of the JMC Plenary (JMC(P)) was:

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

Tiered governance (2022–present)

On 20 January 2020, the Constitution Committee within the House of Lords published a report outlining how the UK Government could improve intergovernmental relations.[8][9] 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.[10][11][12]

Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council

Keir Starmer meets leaders of devolved governments in October 2024

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.[13]
Members
Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council
Name Representing Council Position
Keir Starmer United Kingdom Chair
John Swinney Scotland Member
Rhun ap Iorwerth Wales Member
Michelle O'Neill
Emma Little-Pengelly		 Northern Ireland Member

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.[14]

There are currently two active intergovernmental committees.[15]

No Name of Interministerial Standing Committee
1. Interministerial
2. Finance

Interministerial Groups

There are currently 7 active intergovernmental groups[15]

No Name of Intergovernmental Group
1. Business and Industry
2. Education
3. UK-EU Relations
4. Elections and Registration
5. Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs
6. Housing, Communities, and Local Government
7. COP26

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.[16] 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".[17]

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.[18]

The IGR Council is the final arbiter in any disputes.[19]

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.[20]

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.[21] It was disbanded in February 2026.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24]

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 Kingdom and other ministers from the UK central government with the First Minister of Scotland, First Minister of Wales, First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Mayor of London, and mayors of English combined authorities.[25]

The 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.[26][27][28]

See also

References and notes

  1. Paun, Akash; Henderson, Duncan (4 November 2022). "Intergovernmental relations". Institute for Government.
  2. "Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council communiqué 10 November 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  3. "Review of intergovernmental relations (HTML)". GOV.UK.
  4. "Dunlop review (November 2019)" (PDF).
  5. "What is devolution and how does it work in the UK?". BBC News. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  6. "Devolution: Joint Ministerial Committee | The Institute for Government". www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk. 11 December 2017.
  7. "DUP: NI First Minister Paul Givan announces resignation". BBC News. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  8. Paun, Akash; Sargeant, Jess; Shuttleworth, Kelly (1 July 2020). "Devolution: Joint Ministerial Committee". Institute for Government.
  9. "Lords committee calls for revitalised United Kingdom". Scottish Legal News. 20 January 2022.
  10. "Intergovernmental Relations (IGR) Review aims to strengthen relations between central government and devolved administrations". The Irish News. 14 January 2022.
  11. "Boris Johnson to chair council of UK's devolved administration leaders". Peeblesshire News. 13 January 2022.
  12. "How will the new Council of the Nations and Regions tackle power-sharing challenges?". The Independent. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  13. Pooran, Neil (13 January 2022). "Boris Johnson to chair council of UK's devolved administration leaders". Belfast Telegraph.
  14. "New forum for talks between leaders from across UK". BBC News. 13 January 2022.
  15. Paun, Akash; Henderson, Duncan (14 November 2022). "Timeline of known IGR committee meetings since the IGR review". Institute for Government.
  16. "The review of intergovernmental relations" (PDF). UK Government. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  17. Newson, Nicola (10 January 2024). "Intergovernmental relations within the UK". House of Lords Library. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  18. Newson, Nicola (10 January 2024). "ntergovernmental relations within the UK". House of Lords Library. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  19. Henderson, Paun; Duncan, Akash (14 November 2022). "How the UK and devolved governments resolve disputes". Institute for Government.
  20. O’Grady, Sean (11 October 2024). "How will Starmer's new Council of the Nations and Regions tackle the challenges of power-sharing?". The Independent. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  21. "Orkney to host first UK-wide Islands Forum meeting". guernseypress.com. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  22. "Islands Forum scrapped after meeting just four times". BBC News. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
  23. "Inaugural meeting of East-West Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  24. "Deputy Prime Minister launches first-ever Mayoral Council" (Press release). HM Government. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  25. Atkinson, Emily; Chisholm, Johanna, eds. (8 July 2024). "Starmer departs for Nato summit after making first speech to Parliament as PM". BBC News. PM to establish 'a council for regions and nations'. Archived from the original on 25 July 2024.
  26. Peters, Dan (10 October 2024). "Relationship reset". Municipal Journal. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  27. "The MJ".
  28. "Rayner to scrap 'payday loan' premium for council bailouts". Independent.co.uk. 24 October 2024.