Intergovernmental relations within the UK on Lords agenda

Debate 

The Earl of Kinnoull (Crossbench), Chair of the House of Lords European Union Committee and Convenor of the Crossbench Peers, put forward the debate.  

This was a general debate. During debates, members put their experience to good use to discuss current issues and draw the government's attention to concerns.      

Members speaking  

Contributing members included:

• Lord Khan of Burnley (Labour), former Mayor of Burnley
• Lord Wallace of Saltaire (Liberal Democrat), emeritus professor of international relations at the London School of Economics
• Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench), professor of public sector management at King’s College London.

Opening the debate, Lord Kinnoull said:

'The past 25 years have seen huge changes in how we are governed, with the devolution of much power from Westminster. However, the job of creating the mechanics of how the UK’s resulting governmental bodies interact has struggled to keep step.'

Baroness Penn (Conservative), Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Housing and Communities, responded on behalf of the government:

'Every week, we see Ministers and officials across the United Kingdom and its Government work together to tackle shared challenges…That continues to be an important part of intergovernmental relations and the different ways in which we continue to engage across the UK and beyond.'

Catch up

Watch and read the debate   

Find out more  about the issues discussed: catch up on Parliament TV or read the Lords Hansard transcript.

Explore background information

Find out more in the House of Lords Library briefing on the debate.

Learn more about how the House of Lords checks and challenges government.

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