The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for
Intergovernmental Relations, , will chair the first Islands
Forum in Orkney on 28 September 2022.
The Forum, which will take place at Orkney Research &
Innovation Campus, will ensure island communities are able to
discuss solutions to common challenges, with a significant focus
for the first meeting on opportunities around net zero.
Council leaders and chief executives representing all eligible
island communities across the UK will take part, as well as
ministers from the Scottish and Welsh governments and
representatives from Northern Ireland.
The programme will also include a session with the regulator,
Ofgem. This will allow island representatives to share their
views on regulatory barriers to net zero ambitions and explore
next steps to address them.
Participants will also undertake a tour in Orkney focussing
on renewable energy, hosted by Orkney Islands Council and
European Marine Energy Centre.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, The Rt Hon MP, said:
As the new Minister for Intergovernmental Relations, I am
delighted to be chairing the first Islands Forum in Orkney next
week 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.
