Interministerial Group for Business and Industry: terms of reference (2025)
Membership
- The key members of the Interministerial Group for Business and Industry are:
- Minister for Industry, HM Government
- Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, Welsh Government
- Minister for the Economy, Northern Ireland Executive
- Minister for Business, Scottish Government
2. The Interministerial Group for Business and Industry will be led by those ministers from the UK government and across the devolved governments who have business and industrial matters in their portfolios. Other relevant ministers may be invited on an ad hoc basis, depending on the agenda.
Attendance
3. Each government will be represented by a minister or, in exceptional circumstances, a senior official in the absence of a minister.
Purpose and scope
4. The aim of the Interministerial Group for Business and Industry is to consider and consult on issues relating to business and industry policy. This includes:
- engaging on areas of shared interest across all business and industry policy areas in support of sustainable economic growth
- sharing, reviewing and coordinating relevant policy developments relating to industrial and economic strategies
5. The Group will operate in line with the fundamental principle that collaborative working will be founded on maintaining positive and constructive relations, based on mutual respect for the responsibilities of each government and their shared role in the governance of the UK.
6. Respecting legal restrictions, all members will work together to share data and/or information within the scope of the meeting in order to deliver on its purpose, in line with the four governments’ commitments under the Statistics Concordat.
7. The Interministerial Group for Business and Industry is part of the wider inter-governmental machinery, which is outlined in the Review of Intergovernmental Relations published in 2022. It sits below the middle and top tiers.
Protocols
8. Meetings will be held quarterly with the option to meet more or less frequently if required.
9. The chair of the Interministerial Group for Business and Industry shall be rotated.
10. Meetings will be organised and supported by a joint secretariat, run by officials across the four governments.
11. Meetings may take place virtually via an agreed platform, or in the host nation with the option to join virtually. Any costs associated with hosting are borne by the host government.
12. The secretariat’s functions will include:
- agreeing dates, agenda, location and chairing schedule of intergovernmental meetings in consultation with relevant Private Offices
- compiling and/or commissioning background papers for discussion
- jointly agreeing in advance any papers to be presented as set out in the agenda for each meeting. The chairing administration for each meeting will be responsible for circulating the agenda and any supporting papers
- the note of the meeting and action log will be drafted by the chairing administration and agreed in advance between the four governments, with the secretariat’s help
- the chairing administration will be responsible for circulating draft communiques ahead of final sign off by all governments following the meeting. DBT will be responsible for publishing communiques on GOV.UK, in line with recommendations from the review of Inter-Governmental Relations (IGR).
Review
13. The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Business and Industry Interministerial Group complies with best practice as contained in the Review of Intergovernmental Relations. The ToR will be amended as appropriate to reflect any changes to the role and functions of the IMG (to be agreed by all governments).
14. The ToR represent an agreement between member governments and will remain in place unless and until the group agrees any changes. They will be kept continuously under review and assessed for effectiveness on an annual basis. Any changes will be agreed jointly by consensus.