The Council brought together the ministers for the English regions as well as ministers for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to look at what help the regions need and what Whitehall can do to provide it.
Jonathan Shaw, Minister for the South East said:
"I am delighted that the newly-formed Council for Regional Ministers is now meeting. This Council is a unique opportunity for myself and for the rest of England's Regional Ministers to put the regions on the political map. The Council for Regional Ministers will ensure the views and concerns of homeowners and businesspeople in the South East are taken right to the heart of Government.
The Council of Regional Ministers is chaired by Minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Yvette Cooper. It will meet every two weeks and will feed its findings up to the National Economic Council, which was set up by the Prime Minister earlier this month.
The Council of Regional Ministers (CRM) will meet regularly to:
- discuss common issues and take action where appropriate including making recommendations to the Regional Economic Council and National Economic Council
- act as a conduit to the NEC and REC for information gathered by Regional Ministers as part of their work in their region; and
- facilitate the dissemination of key messages by Regional Ministers, including from the National and Regional Economic Councils.
The CRM will be co-chaired by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and the Chief Secretary of the Treasury and the deputy chairs will be the Minister of State, Communities and Local Government and the Minister of State, Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. All Regional Ministers will be members, as will Ministers representing Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Council's remit will be to:
- help ensure that the work of key regional public sector bodies is properly coordinated to address short term challenges and opportunities
- disseminate key messages for Regional Ministers to use in their discussions in the regions. This will include the narrative agreed by the NEC; and
- act as a conduit to the NEC and REC, for information generated by Regional Ministers' work in their region. Regional Ministers will of course continue to raise specific issues bilaterally with Departments in the normal way
