12 November 2018

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop represented the Scottish Government at the 31st meeting of the British-Irish Council (BIC)  in the Isle of Man.

BIC was established in 1998 as a forum for the Irish and British governments and of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, together with representatives of the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey, to exchange information, discuss and consult on matters of mutal interest.

Family photo of Heads of Administration and press conference at the #BICIOM Summit hosted by @HowardQuayleMHK and @IOMGovernment . Update on discussions on recent political developments and digital collaboration between all BIC Administrations pic.twitter.com/wq3E6bgxgv

— BritishIrishCouncil (@BICSecretariat) November 9, 2018

Brexit was high on the agenda at the 31st meeting, with discussions focusing on the importance of maintaining the constitutional and formal relationships across the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies following the UK’s exit from the EU.

FM @NicolaSturgeon & @FionaHyslop will be representing @scotgov at today’s #BiCIoM where the theme is #digitalinclusion Ahead of the summit the FM will use her meeting with @DLidington to discuss Brexit & set out the case for staying in the Single Market and Customs Union 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/ffgXDVbnzG

— First Minister (@ScotGovFM) November 9, 2018

Ministers also discussed the opportunities and challenges of digital inclusion.

.@FionaHyslop highlighting @scotgov work on #digitalinclusion and the benefits it can bring to wellbeing, better educational attainment, improved employability, & better access to the labour market at today’s #BiCIoM 👇 https://t.co/Hl7lBFURx0

— Scot Gov Culture (@culturescotgov) November 9, 2018

A full communique was published following the meeting.