Joint Statement of the Interparliamentary Forum
25 February 2022
On 25 February 2022, we as the Chairs, Conveners and Members of the relevant committees in the Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, Northern Ireland Assembly, House of Commons and House of Lords, met at the House of Lords for the first meeting of the Interparliamentary Forum, following an invitation from the Lord Speaker. This forum is the successor to the Interparliamentary Forum on Brexit which provided a forum for collective scrutiny of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union. The continuation of a forum underlines the value and importance of continued exchanges of views and best practice between our legislatures in the new frameworks beyond Brexit.
Following updates from each legislature, we discussed the purpose and future work of the Interparliamentary Forum and agreed that the Forum provides an important start for vital dialogue and cooperation between parliamentarians. The Forum will aim to improve scrutiny through the mutual exchange of information and by seeking a consistent approach to improving transparency and accountability at both a Ministerial and inter-governmental level in our respective jurisdictions. We also held an exchange of views on intergovernmental relations with Neil O’Brien MP, Minister for Levelling Up, The Union and Constitution.
We intend to build on this positive start with another meeting in the latter part of 2022.
Attendees
- Sinéad McLaughlin MLA, Chair, Committee for the Executive Office, Northern Ireland Assembly
- Dr Caoimhe Archibald MLA, Chair, Committee for the Economy, Northern Ireland Assembly
- Huw Irranca-Davies MS, Chair, Legislation, Justice and Constitution Committee, Senedd Cymru
- Clare Adamson MSP, Convener, Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Scottish Parliament
- Donald Cameron MSP, Deputy Convener, Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee, Scottish Parliament
- Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, Chair, Liaison Committee, House of Commons
- Lloyd-Russell-Moyle MP, Member, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, House of Commons
- Baroness Drake, Chair, Constitution Committee, House of Lords
- Lord Kinnoull, Chair, European Affairs Committee, House of Lords