East–West Council

East-West Council
Formation26 March 2024; 9 months ago (2024-03-26)
Legal statusJoint committee
PurposeIntergovernmental relations
Region served
United Kingdom
MembershipUK Government
Northern Ireland Executive
Pat McFadden
Hilary Benn

The East–West Council was established in 2024 as part of the Northern Ireland Executive reformation with a purpose to improve links between Northern Ireland and rest of the United Kingdom.[1]

Purpose

According to the Government of the United Kingdom its missions include:[2]

  • Sharing "best practice" between Great Britain and Northern Ireland on economic inactivity and offering advisory support to implement "major projects"
  • Recommending interventions on east–west investment and assessing existing funding and investment strategies
  • Improving international investment to Northern Ireland
  • Bolstering east-west connectivity

History

The idea of forming an East-West Council was first proposed by Democratic Unionist Party Leader Jeffrey Donaldson in October 2023 as a prerequisite to restoring a power-sharing executive in Northern Ireland. Donaldson hoped that the proposed body would "bring together representatives from across the United Kingdom", on a "regular basis" to "discuss and collaborate on opportunities for enhanced co-operation".[3] Plans for the council were outlined in a command paper published by the UK government in February 2024.[4] Devolved government was restored in Northern Ireland on 3 February 2024 when a first minister, deputy first minister and executive were nominated by the Northern Ireland Assembly. The East-West Council met for the first time on 26 March 2024 at Dover House in London.[5]

Membership

The council is made up of representatives from the UK central government, Northern Ireland Executive, business and civil society.[6] It was chaired by the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations.[7]

Meetings

Overview of East-West Council meetings
Date Chair Location
26 March 2024 Michael Gove Dover House,
Westminster

References

  1. ^ "Inaugural meeting of East-West Council". GOV.UK. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  2. ^ "New UK East-West Council meets for the first time". BBC News. 2024-03-26. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  3. ^ "Sunak says east-west council proposed by DUP has 'considerable merit'". 18 October 2023.
  4. ^ https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65ba3b7bee7d490013984a59/Command_Paper__1_.pdf
  5. ^ McCormack, Jayne; Hughes, Brendan (26 March 2024). "New UK East-West Council meets for the first time". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  6. ^ "First East-West Council meeting to take place by the end of March, says DUP". BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. 2024-02-28. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  7. ^ "East-West Council set for inaugural meeting". ITV News. 26 March 2024.

See also