Written - Memorandum of Understanding

At a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee (Domestic) on 10 March 2010, which I attended with the Deputy First Minister, a revised Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements were agreed between the UK Government, the Scottish Ministers, the Welsh Ministers and the Northern Ireland Executive Committee. 

The revised Memorandum of Understanding, which was last published in 2001, reaffirms the principles of co-operation underpinning the relationship between the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations.  I have today laid the full text of the Memorandum of Understanding before the Assembly.  It is also being presented to the other three legislatures. 

The revised Memorandum of Understanding contains the following substantive changes:

• Updated terminology to reflect the constitutional changes brought about by the Government of Wales Act 2006;
• New arrangements in relation to dispute avoidance and resolution;
• Changes to concordats annexed to the Memorandum of Understanding, namely the Concordat on the Co-ordination of European Policy, which relate to the workings of the Joint Ministerial Committee (Europe) and the role of the Devolved Administrations’ EU offices in Brussels, and the Concordat on International Relations, which relate to the responsibilities of the Devolved Administrations in connection with international obligations and their relationship with international organisations.

The Concordat on Statistics has been removed from the Memorandum of Understanding as it has been succeeded by legislation making new arrangements for statistical work across the UK.