Debate contribution: Inaugural East-West Council Meeting
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 May 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Ministerial Statement
- Heading
- Inaugural East-West Council Meeting
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4487895
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The East-West Council was established as part of the 'Safeguarding the Union' Command Paper published by the UK Government in January 2024 ahead of the return of the Executive. It is a unique new forum, bringing together key representatives from government, civil society and business to identify opportunities for deepening connections in areas such as trade, transport, education, sport and culture. There are statutory structures already in place to facilitate cooperation between the United Kingdom Government and the Irish Government, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish Government, and all the jurisdictions across these islands. It is important to remember that the Council's role is not to replicate those already well-established arrangements, but, rather, to complement them. There is significant potential in strengthening the cooperation between Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England, so that we can address shared challenges, grasp shared opportunities and improve the lives of people here. The East-West Council will raise the profile of the opportunities that Northern Ireland offers by supporting connectivity between business, skills, trade and innovation within the UK. It will act in an advisory function to drive east-west engagement and to develop and share existing clusters of excellence, and will seek to raise the profile of Northern Ireland in decision-making across business and Governments. The Council's work will be driven by targeted "missions", outlined in the Command Paper, that are designed to tackle some of Northern Ireland's most challenging issues. Those include economic inactivity, east-west institutional connectivity and trade flows as well as international investment. The inaugural Council meeting took place in Dover House, London on 26 March. It was chaired by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, Michael Gove. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris; Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker; and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for levelling up, Jacob Young, were also in attendance. The Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy, and the Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, accompanied the First Minister and me. The first meeting focused on the Council’s strategic direction and governance. We stressed the need to boost economic, educational, sporting and cultural opportunities in Northern Ireland. We highlighted the importance of enhancing the links across the UK so that we can work together on a wide range of issues to deliver real benefits for everyone here. We want to see more connectivity between business, skills, trade and innovation across the UK, and we want to find solutions to shared challenges. We also want to raise the profile of the opportunities that Northern Ireland offers to investors as well as support export and import markets in key sectors. In addition, we must not lose sight of the opportunities presented by maximising trade within this United Kingdom. While bodies exist for the facilitation and promotion of the UK’s international trade, we also discussed opportunities that a new body, InterTrade UK, could bring to promote trade and unlock barriers within the United Kingdom. As well as discussing governance and strategic direction, the Council endorsed £150 million for the new enhanced investment zone in Northern Ireland, which will provide targeted incentives and interventions to encourage investment and boost growth. In addition, we welcomed the announcement of awards totalling more than £17 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which will be used to support adult numeracy and business innovation here. As part of that, an award of £11·2 million will go to Invest Northern Ireland to boost the take-up of new technologies and innovations and develop and grow important sectors, such as manufacturing, health and life sciences and agri-food. The Council also recognised the positive impact of the community ownership fund here, which reflects our strong and vibrant charitable, community and voluntary sector, and endorsed the third and final round of funding for the initiative. That will help bring spaces back to life and enable communities to take ownership of important community assets. Those projects are examples of the UK Government and the Executive cooperating to address the needs of people and businesses in Northern Ireland. The East-West Council is expected to meet regularly. The Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and Minister for Intergovernmental Relations will sponsor the Council and chair when in attendance. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland will act as co-sponsor and deputy chair. The secretariat for the Council will also engage directly with Departments via their respective private offices on specific matters to be discussed at future Council meetings. Ministers will continue to bring specific issues to the Executive as required and ensure that the Assembly is kept informed as appropriate. I trust that Members will view the creation of the Council as a catalyst for positive change. By bringing together the collective experience, knowledge and expertise of its members, the Council will be a vehicle for overcoming obstacles, seizing opportunities and harnessing the immense potential that Northern Ireland has to offer for the benefit of all who live, work and do business here.
836 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.45 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Constitutional question, Brexit, the Windsor Framework and sovereignty | 0.54 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.42 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.04 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:21 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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