Written Ministerial Statement

The content of this written ministerial statement is as received at the time from the Minister. It has not been subject to the official reporting (Hansard) process.

Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister - Memorandum of Understanding and Supplementary Agreements

Download this statement as a PDF (1007.31 kb)

Mr P Robinson (The First Minister) and Mr M McGuinness (The deputy First Minister): We have today presented to the Assembly a revised Memorandum of Understanding and supplementary agreements between the United Kingdom Government, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government, and the Northern Ireland Executive.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is the principal agreement between the UK Government and the three devolved administrations and sets out the principles which govern relations between them. The MOU was last revised and presented to the Assembly in March 2010 and this version now replaces that document.

The revisions, which were agreed at a plenary meeting of the Joint Ministerial Committee on 8 June, are to the protocol on dispute avoidance and resolution and will provide a facility for the commissioning of independent analysis to inform inter-administration disagreements.

We have a responsibility for ensuring effective working relations and communication between the devolved administrations, and for helping to resolve any disputes which may arise. In the context of the MOU we will continue to seek to ensure its effective operation to further develop these relations and uphold the interests of this administration.