THE new Prime Minister-led council of devolved leaders, announced by the UK Government to much fanfare at the start of the year, has yet to meet even once, the Sunday National can reveal.
The Tory government announced in January that Boris Johnson – the self-appointed Minister for the Union – would be heading up the council, the highest body in a new three-tier structure of cooperation with the devolved governments.
Then levelling-up minister Michael Gove hailed the “landmark” announcements, while Johnson said the council would “build upon that strength [of the UK] as we all continue to work together to deliver for the British people”.
However, the council has yet to convene almost seven months after it was announced.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said that the news was unfortunate, given the “obvious and urgent” need to address the UK-wide cost of living crisis.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said that, while they had welcomed the announcements in January, “deeper and more meaningful engagement at the highest level” was needed to make intergovernmental working more effective.
The first meeting of the Prime Minister-chaired council had been pencilled in for sometime in September, the Sunday National understands, but that has been postponed amid uncertainty about who will be in No 10 come then.
Johnson was ousted as Tory leader after a record-breaking slew of resignations from his government in early July. He refused to step down as Prime Minister, however, insisting he will serve until a replacement is chosen.
Either Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or former chancellor Rishi Sunak will win the right to take over from Johnson after the results of the Conservative members’ ballot is announced on September 5.
Neither Truss’s nor Sunak’s campaign teams responded when asked for their policy on the devolved leaders council and how often they would chair the meeting as prime minister.
While the top council has yet to meet, other interministerial councils in the second and third tiers of the new devolved structure have been convened.
The second tier consists of two committees. One – the Interministerial Standing Committee – is chaired by the minister for intergovernmental relations, but this post has remained empty since Michael Gove was fired from the Cabinet.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford have both attended this middle-tier committee, which has met twice.
The second middle-tier committee has also met twice, having been attended by finance ministers from the four UK nations.
The third tier consists of “Interministerial Groups” led by individual departments, which cover a wide range of policy issues within a given minister’s or department’s portfolio. Seven of these have met at least once.
However, key committees such as the Interministerial Group for Net Zero, Energy and Climate Change have not yet met.
Scotland’s Deputy First Minister Swinney told the Sunday National: “There is an obvious and urgent need to address the catastrophic impact of rising prices being felt across the four countries of the UK now, and with autumn and winter fast approaching.
“It is therefore unfortunate that plans for the council to meet in September to agree action to help address cost of living pressures appear to have been put on hold.”
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council will meet annually and the Prime Minister regularly discusses key issues with first ministers.
“So far this year there have been more than 160 meetings with the UK Government and devolved ministers to discuss key policies including cost of living and the war in Ukraine, making sure we deliver for people across the UK.”
