Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and intergovernmental relations minister, Nadhim Zahawi, will chair the first ever meeting of the newly established Islands Forum in Orkney on September 28, 2022.
The Islands Forum meeting will be held at the Orkney Research & Innovation Campus. The Forum is intended to enable island communities to come together to discuss solutions to common issues that islanders face.
High on the agenda of the first Forum meeting will be the government’s Net-Zero plans. Representatives from island communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will convene for the discussions, including local authority leaders and chief-executives. Ministers from the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments and representatives from Northern Ireland will also attend.
For the Net-Zero talks, representatives from energy sector regulator Ofgem will be present to hear the views of islanders on regulatory barriers to Net-Zero ambitions and engage with them in a bid to find solutions for red tape issues.
Attendees will be invited for a tour of Orkney organised by the Orkney Islands Council and European Marine Energy Centre, which will be focused on renewable energy in the area.
Nadhim Zahawi commented: “As the new minister for intergovernmental relations, I am delighted to be chairing the first Islands Forum in Orkney with the purpose of giving our islands a stronger voice.
“It is often said that people make a place, and this is certainly true of the UK’s island communities, who contribute a huge amount to our country but often face common challenges.
“I look forward to hearing directly from island communities and working closely with the devolved governments on the issues that matter most to local people, making good on our promise to deliver for the whole United Kingdom.”
Image by IAEA Imagebank - Nadhim Zahawi (cop26_2083) on Wikimedia Commons
