[1] Since powers were devolved in the late 1990s from the UK Parliament to Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, there have been various bodies and forums to facilitate relations between the four governments and their officials.

[3][4] In 1999, devolved administrations were created in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland by the United Kingdom parliament.

[5] The Joint Ministerial Committee was created in 1999 by Tony Blair's Labour government,[6] and sought to act as a focus for the coordination of the relationships between the four administrations.

[6] This was primarily because the UK, Scotland, and Wales governments were all controlled by the Labour Party, and as such ministers from the central and devolved governments could quickly and easily use informal links to coordinate policy.

[6] Under proposals outlined by Theresa May in October 2016, the JMC Plenary was to meet on a definite annual basis and would have rotated between London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

It would have also published an annual report on its work and hoped to foster greater formal and informal links between ministers from each (devolved) government.

On 20 January 2020, the Constitution Committee within the House of Lords published a report outlining how the UK Government could improve intergovernmental relations.

[24] The review into intergovernmental relations concluded that the governments of the United Kingdom, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland were “committed to promoting collaboration and the avoidance of disagreements".

[26][failed verification] Several other bodies and forums have also been established to enhance relations between national, devolved and local governments in the UK.

They are intended to complement rather than replace the existing tiered system of intergovernmental relations between the UK's four governments.