British-Irish Council. (2025) British-Irish Council annual report 2024/25. Edinburgh: British-Irish Council.
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We are pleased to present the British-Irish Council (BIC) Annual Report for 2024/25 outlining the Council’s work from April 2024 to March 2025. The aim of the Council is to “promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands”. The Council comprises the Government of Guernsey, Government of Ireland, Isle of Man Government, Government of Jersey, Northern Ireland Executive, Scottish Government, UK Government and Welsh Government.
At official-level, the BIC’s ten Work Sectors - Creative Industries; Drugs and Alcohol; Early Years; Environment; Energy; Housing; Indigenous, Minority and Lesser-used Languages; Planning and Places; Social Inclusion, and Transport - met regularly throughout the year to implement their agreed work programmes, as well as share best practice on issues of common interest and to strengthen working relationships.
Some examples illustrate the range of activities. Officials from the Creative Industries and Social Inclusion Work Sectors had an intensive joint visit to Jersey in September 2024 to meet with numerous social enterprises and creative organisations supporting the Island population’s health and wellbeing. The visit culminated with the opportunity to view the flagship refurbishment project of Jersey’s Opera House in St. Helier. In October, the Energy Work Sector visited University College of London’s (UCL) East Campus in Stratford, London, to learn about research taking place on issues such as biomass energy, green hydrogen and carbon capture storage.
In March, officials from the Early Years and Drugs and Alcohol Work Sectors went on a joint visit to Powys, Wales, to learn about the trauma-informed approach and support being provided to families and individuals dealing with the impacts of drug and alcohol misuse. As the British-Irish Council moves into its 26th year, we look forward to the upcoming opportunities to support strengthened collaboration across these islands, ensuring the Council remains a productive forum in facilitating shared learning.
P.10 Drugs and Alcohol – Led by the Government of Ireland - On 29 August 2024, the threat of Synthetic Opioids, and the range of public health responses to this challenge, were the focus of a BIC Drugs and Alcohol Work Sector webinar attended by over 90 delegates. These included a mixture of officials, public health experts and academics, who shared expertise and perspectives and reviewed public health responses across these islands to synthetic opioids and surveyed external developments and trends in Europe, the USA, and beyond. In March 2025, the Drugs and Alcohol Work Sector also participated in a joint visit to Powys, Wales with the Early Years Work Sector. The event, hosted by the Welsh Government, focused on an approach being adopted across Wales to being trauma-informed and Adverse Childhood Experience (ACEs) aware. As part of the visit, officials were given the opportunity to visit Kaleidoscope, an organisation supporting upwards of 10,000 people a year across Wales dealing with the impacts of drug and alcohol misuse.
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