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British-Irish Council – Annual Report – 2012
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Work Sectors: Ministerial Meetings
Social Inclusion (Led by Scottish and Welsh Governments)
Social inclusion is about reducing barriers which may exist for people when accessing services
or participating in the community. The Social Inclusion work sector was established at the first
British-Irish Council Summit held in 1999 and was the theme of Summits in 2002 and 2009
focusing on financial exclusion and on voluntary and community activity.
Building on the conclusions of the 2009 Summit in Cardiff, in March 2010, Ministers asked
the work sector to examine in detail how the Third Sector working together could make
communities more sustainable and socially cohesive; to enable wider civil activity and
integrate the Third Sector into mainstream service delivery.
Ministerial Meeting
The Social Inclusion work sector held its fifth Ministerial meeting hosted by the Welsh
Government at the City Hall in Cardiff, on 7th March 2012. The meeting was chaired by Mr
Carl Sargeant AM, Minister for Local Government and Communities, and Ministers reviewed
the report Contribution of the Third Sector to Social Inclusion.
Ministers discussed the contribution of the Third Sector across all Member Administrations
and the key role it was playing, given the current economic climate, in delivering flexible and
inclusive services within communities. They acknowledged the work being done to actively
engage the Third Sector from an early stage in policy discussions and development within
each Member Administration. Ministers commended the willingness and commitment of the
Third Sector to support the resilience and sustainability of communities, and the mobilising of
voluntary effort, to meet the big challenges facing people in their everyday lives.
The work sector has now refocused its activities into the area of preventative spend as a tool of
social policy and a work programme for 2013-15 has been agreed.