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The Joint Ministerial Committee

• The Joint Ministerial Committee is established by the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (paragraph 24 and following and annexes A1 and A2 of the Memorandum). Its purpose is to provide central coordination of the overall relationship between the administrations.
• Its terms of reference cover issues straddling the devolved/non-devolved boundaries; by agreement, the treatment of devolved matters in different parts of the UK; reviewing liaison arrangements between the Government and the devolved administrations; and considering disputes between administrations.
• The MoU makes clear JMC is a consultative, rather than an executive body.
• The JMC may meet in a range of formats, including plenary meetings chaired by the Prime Minister or his representative. At its most recent meeting, on 16 September 2009, the Committee discussed the economy, with the Prime Minister giving the leaders of the devolved administrations opportunity to comment on the forthcoming meeting of the G20 in Pittsburgh.
• The previous plenary meeting was held on 25 June 2008 (following a period when no such meetings had taken place). It reached agreement on renewable energy issues, and developed in outline an agreed approach to questions of marine planning which, following further negotiation, have led to UK-wide agreement on marine planning.
• Ministers also meet at approximately quarterly intervals in the JMC(Europe) format, chaired by the Foreign Secretary, to discuss matters bearing on devolved responsibilities that are under discussion within the European Union.
• Meetings in other functional formats have taken place at various times. Following discussion at the June 2008 plenary, a new format for meetings, JMC (Domestic), began recently. This provides a forum for discussion of non-European issues in which the devolved administrations have an interest.