Interministerial Standing Committee Communiqué: 12 March 2024
Updated 2 May 2024
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The Interministerial Standing Committee met for the sixth time on 12 March 2024 via video conference. The meeting was chaired by the Counsel General and Minister for the Constitution, Mick Antoniw MS.
The other attending ministers were:
From the UK Government: Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP; Secretary of State for Wales, the Rt Hon David TC Davies MP; Secretary of State for Scotland, the Rt Hon Alister Jack MP; and Minister of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Steve Baker MP.
From the Scottish Government: Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Shona Robison MSP.
From the Northern Ireland Executive: First Minister Michelle O’Neill MLA; deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly MLA; and Junior Minister Pam Cameron MLA.
The meeting was also attended by the Minister for Social Justice and Chief Whip in the Welsh Government, Jane Hutt MS, who joined the meeting to discuss community cohesion.
The Committee opened by welcoming the return of Northern Ireland Ministers to the meeting, recognising the significant work undertaken in recent months to support the restoration of government at Stormont.
The First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland outlined the commitment of the Northern Ireland Executive to a number of key priority areas.
The Committee then turned to a discussion on how to support multi-faith communities across the UK following tensions arising in the Middle East. The value of sharing best practice, recognising the distinctive approaches of each of the governments, in navigating aspects of shared community cohesion challenges was recognised.
The Committee discussed upcoming legislation being taken forward in the UK Parliament including efforts to create a smoke free generation and the need to work together closely to ensure sub-Post Masters are exonerated from Horizon related convictions in a timely and equitable way.
The Counsel General updated the Committee on the recently published Report from the Independent Commission on the Constitutional Future of Wales and the Welsh Government’s next steps in considering the content of the report.
The next IMSC is scheduled to be held in June, UK Government are scheduled to chair.