Mr. Colin McGrath:

The Committee for the Executive Office is always keen to engage on matters of common interest. The UK's withdrawal from the European Union has presented challenges for both of our jurisdictions and we welcome the opportunity to work through those challenges. Members will be aware that there are a range of views on the Committee for the Executive Office regarding the UK withdrawal and the associated Ireland-Northern Ireland protocol but we are united on the need to make the best of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.

The Committee for the Executive Office takes a strategic view of EU affairs in general and on the implications of the withdrawal in particular. While the detail of the transition and adjustment lies with other statutory committees of the assembly, our committee scrutinises how the Department and the Executive engage with the issues at hand. We have regular updates on EU matters from the junior Ministers of the Executive Office, we hear from the dedicated mechanism tasked with overseeing equality and human rights standards post-Brexit and we hear from officials on matters such as the EU funding programmes.

Intergovernmental relations are an important aspect of our scrutiny work. How we engage, North and South, east and west and beyond, is more important than ever. To that end, we have urged the Executive to be represented where decisions are being made and where negotiations are taking place, particularly on the various bodies associated with the withdrawal agreement and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The committee has also been making representation for the assembly to be represented on the parliamentary partnership assembly in order to be better connected with EU-related developments. The changes that have come about have added considerable complexity to our work and it is only through partnership and interaction that we can negotiate a path through the challenges we face. I look forward to the conversation today and I remind members of our committee that we are acting in our capacity as committee members.