Ministers of the Council at the sectoral meeting on Demography, Scotland, 31 March 2008 - Click to Enlarge

Demography

Lead Administration – Scotland

Demography was adopted as work sector of the Council at the London Summit in June 2006. Scotland is taking forward the development of this new work stream.

Demographic changes are being faced by all British-Irish Council administrations.
A changing society has implications across a wide range of areas. These include the demand for, and provision of, public services such as health, education and transport including their scale, type and location. It also has implications for the size and composition of the working population and the creation of the wealth necessary to provide public services and fund future pension contributions.

British-Irish Council administrations are faced with different challenges and issues. The group has agreed to focus on the topic of migration as part of the first programme of work.

In March 2008, the Ministerial meeting, held in Edinburgh, Ministers supported in principle the work plan of understanding migration and its impact; healthy independent ageing, investigating policy interventions, fertility, and student flows.

Click here to view the Communiqués.