Recommendation 3

The Committee recommends that the role of the Standing Secretariat needs to be considerably strengthened including as follows –
The Secretariat should be based outside of London with additional resources to those currently available;
The Secretariat should be more public-facing including an on-line presence similar to the British Irish Council secretariat;
There should be a greater focus on promoting transparency and accountability in line with its remit as set out in the 2022 Review;
This should include criteria agreed at an intergovernmental level for all communiques including around the minimum level of detail which is required to be provided to support transparency and accountability;
The intergovernmental criteria should include a commitment to provide in each communique a summary of the position of each government in attendance;
The development of an intergovernmental activity hub;
More emphasis on its independence from government(s) as well as impartiality between governments;
A requirement to appear before parliamentary committees if requested.