Recommendation 8

The UK Government carries out negotiations and enters into treaties for the whole of the UK. However, under the UK’s devolution arrangements, day to day responsibility for areas of domestic policy which could be impacted by treaties often lies with the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In these areas, consultation and coordination between the UK Government and devolved governments is done under the auspices of the Concordat on International Relations. This Concordat has not been updated since 2013. Since this time there have been significant developments in the field of intergovernmental relations; the devolution statutes themselves have changed, the UK has left the EU, and a new intergovernmental relations system has been established.