Social Inclusion

The lead administrations for social inclusion are the Scottish Government and the Welsh Government.

The Social Inclusion Work Sector was established at the first British-Irish Council summit in 1999. Social inclusion is about reducing barriers which may exist for people when accessing services or participating in the community. 

 In March 2010, Ministers asked the work sector to examine how the third sector working together can make communities more sustainable and socially cohesive; how we can enable wider civil activity; and how we enable the third sector to become part of the mainstream in service delivery.

 At the most recent Ministerial meeting in March 2012, Ministers endorsed the Report  entitled “The Contribution of the Third Sector to Social Inclusion” produced by the work sector. In developing the Report, officials engaged with the third sector and sought to address the objectives set by Ministers through a series of study visits.  The Report is available on this website, alongside videos which show examples of the kind of work and projects the third sector is involved in across Member Administrations.

 At the March meeting, Ministers agreed a new theme for the work sector on preventative spend, particularly in the context of an ageing population.   A work sector meeting was held in mid-November to set out the programme for this work.

Communiqués from Previous Ministerial Meetings

5th Ministerial Meeting - 7 March 2012

3rd Ministerial Meeting - 20 May 2008

2nd Ministerial Meeting - 2-3 March 2006

1st Ministerial Meeting - 15-16 July 2004