British Irish Council

22 May 2008 09:58 AM The British Irish Council (BIC) met in Cardiff this week.

Communities Minister Stewart Maxwell joined Ministers from across the UK and Ireland to discuss the key challenges and barriers to progress in tackling child poverty.

The BIC was established under the East-West or Strand Three element of the historic Good Friday Agreement which was concluded in 1998.

Mr Maxwell said:

"The Scottish Government has made clear our commitment to the UK child poverty targets and this meeting is a valuable opportunity for Ministers to share knowledge and ideas on the subject.

"Earlier this year we launched a Discussion Paper on Tackling Poverty, Inequality and Deprivation in Scotland and announced the creation of the £435 million Fairer Scotland Fund, designed to support projects to address poverty, inequality and deprivation.

"We are currently preparing an anti-poverty framework, and at the heart of that will be a delivery plan for the solidarity target which has been set out in our economic strategy.

"This target commits us to increasing the proportion of income earned by the bottom 30 per cent of Scotland's population by 2017. That is a radical commitment which puts tackling income inequality at the heart of this Government's agenda.

"This meeting is a good opportunity for us to learn more about what action has been effective for other Governments."

The members of BIC are the British and Irish Governments, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Assembly, and the devolved administrations of Northern Ireland, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

Related Information

http://www3.british-irishcouncil.org/