PM Covid recovery meeting with the First Ministers and Deputy First Minister: 18 October

Today (Monday 18 October) the Prime Minister met with the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland to discuss the United Kingdom’s Covid recovery and preparations for COP26.

The Prime Minister was joined by the Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Michael Gove and the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Sajid Javid. The Secretaries of State for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland also participated virtually, along with other ministers from the Devolved Administrations.

The Prime Minister spoke about the shared sense of shock around the death of Sir David Amess and reinforced his messages of condolence to David’s loved ones ahead of observing a minute’s silence.

He opened the meeting by welcoming the opportunity to discuss issues together for the benefit of the whole of the UK. The Prime Minister pointed to the vaccine rollout and the resettlement of Afghan refugees across the UK as demonstration of shared successes.

The Minister for Intergovernmental Relations reiterated the benefits of continued collaboration to aid covid recovery and deliver for all citizens.

Ministers discussed the continued pressures of covid and flu as we head into the winter months. The Health and Social Care Secretary spoke about the importance of continued regular contact as the covid vaccine booster programme is implemented across the UK.

The Prime Minister committed to the covid inquiry being UK wide where this will maximise benefit and lessons learned, and said we will consult the Devolved Administrations on the terms of reference.

Ministers also discussed preparations for the COP26 summit and how to work together to get maximum possible outcomes. The Prime Minister reinforced the summit aims to secure concrete pledges to reduce carbon emissions and thanked the First Ministers and the Deputy First Minister for their work to support the UK’s journey to achieve net zero.

The Prime Minister spoke about his commitment to further close working and looked forward to future discussions in this format.

Attendees:

UK Government

Prime Minister (Chair) - Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP

Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations - Rt Hon Michael Gove MP

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care - Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Rt Hon Brandon Lewis CBE MP

Secretary of State for Scotland – Rt Hon Alister Jack MP

Secretary of State for Wales – Rt Hon Simon Hart MP

Scottish Government

First Minister of Scotland - Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon MSP

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care - Humza Yousaf MSP

Welsh Government

First Minister of Wales - Rt Hon Mark Drakeford MS

Minister for Minister for Health and Social Services - Eluned Morgan MS

Northern Ireland Executive

First Minister of Northern Ireland - Paul Givan MLA

Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland - Michelle O’Neill MLA