MICHAEL Gove will tomorrow appear before a House of Lords committee to set out the UK Government's vision of the Union.

On the eve of the session, peers have revealed the questions they want answers on.

Gove is to be quizzed by the Constitution Committee in his roles of Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office. Both of those roles carry the responsibility for "devolution issues and strengthening the Union".

He'll be accompanied by civil servant Sue Gray, the second permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office. Her job includes responsibility for the goverment's Union and Constitution Directorate.

Ahead of the Tuesday session, the committee has revealed the questions it wants answers to on finance, intergovernment working and more.

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They are: 

  • What is the UK Government’s vision for the Union in 2021, and its strategy for strengthening it? 
  • Once finalised, will the proposed reforms to intergovernmental structures help build trust and cooperation between the UK Government and the devolved administrations? 
  • Does the Government agree that the Sewel Convention needs to be strengthened? 
  • Will direct expenditure by the UK Government in devolved areas, including through the Shared Prosperity Fund and the levelling up agenda, increase support for the Union? 
  • Following the repeal of EVEL, is it important for England to have a distinct voice within the UK’s constitutional arrangements? 

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The 13-member committee is chaired by Labour's Baroness Taylor of Bolton and includes former Scotland Office under-secretary Lord Dunlop.

His review into devolution was published by the UK Government in March, having been sat-on since late-2019.

Praised by Gove as "brilliant work", the report found the UK’s "intergovernmental relations machinery is not fit for purpose" and a UK Intergovernmental Council should be set-up.

It also calls for a new Cabinet position to be created "with specific responsibility for the constitutional integrity and operation of the United Kingdom" and for UK Government activities in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to be "clearly marked with UK Government branding".

At the time, Inverclyde MP Ronnie Cowan, who sits on Westminster’s Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, said: "These outdated, half-measures will do nothing to address the simple fact that Boris Johnson's Tory government has repeatedly ridden roughshod over Scotland by hammering our economy with a hard Brexit, stripping powers from the Scottish Parliament, undermining devolution, and threatening to sign away our NHS in damaging trade deals."