NICOLA Sturgeon is set to be called to give evidence to a new Westminster Committee inquiry about strengthening the United Kingdom following last year’s No vote in the independence referendum.
The House of Lords Constitution Committee, chaired by Conservative peer, Lord Lang of Monkton, said it was worried that the current devolution settlement was the “result of ad hoc, piecemeal, change rather than the result of a considered and coherent process that takes into account the needs of the UK as a whole”.
The inquiry would, therefore, focus not only on devolution but on the Union itself, to “try and identify what binds the constituent parts of the UK together in a single Union and to consider ways in which that Union might be strengthened and reinforced”.
Sources close to the committee said it would be seeking to invite a range of politicians to give evidence from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, including the First Minister as well as David Mundell, the Scottish Secretary. Some evidence sessions will take place in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.
Lord Lang said: “Since 1998, devolution has significantly changed the way the United Kingdom is governed and there are proposals for the further devolution of power both to nations within the UK and to English cities and regions in the very near future. We are concerned, however, that this process has not been undertaken in a coherent or considered way; the devolution of powers to each nation has been considered separately with little or no reflection on the impact on the Union as a whole.”
The former Scottish Secretary argued that following Scotland’s clear vote last year to remain in the UK, the time was now right for a “thorough and detailed look at what the Union is for and how we can ensure a stable devolution settlement that preserves and strengthens the UK as a whole”.
The inquiry is set to begin in the autumn with a report due next year.
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