Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the mechanisms used to ensure that the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are informed of actions being taken by the Government to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Government is working closely with the devolved administrations.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, holds regular calls with the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, and ministers from the devolved administrations will be invited to attend the Covid-Operations Committee on a weekly basis. This supplements wider joint working by ministers and officials. The purpose is not simply to ‘ensure that the First Ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are informed of actions being taken by the Government’ but to share best practice and data, coordinate action and work together as set out in the Joint Statement of 25 September.