MARK McInnes has reportedly been appointed Number 10's adviser on Scotland this morning as the UK Government moves away from its failed Union Unit system.

The Union Unit had “troubles”, Douglas Ross admitted earlier this year, as the team of anti-independence advisers went through a series of leaders before disbanding.

READ MORE: The Union Unit as we know it is finished. This timeline shows how chaotic it was

The unit was replaced by a new Cabinet committee on Union strategy, chaired by the Prime Minister and including the Chancellor, Secretaries of State for Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, unelected former Brexit negotiator Lord Frost and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove.

Former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, who is yet to take her place in the House of Lords after leaving Holyrood at the end of the last parliamentary term, revealed today that McInnes will be advising the Westminster government on all things Scotland and the Union, as well as other issues.

Who is Mark McInnes?

Mark McInnes, Baron McInnes of Kilwinning, is the director of the Scottish Conservatives. He has served in the role since 2003.

He was a councillor for the Meadows/Morningside area of Edinburgh from 2003 to 2017, when his focus turned to his position in the House of Lords.

McInnes was nominated for a life peerage in David Cameron’s resignation honours and became Baron McInnes of Kilwinning in the same year, describing the appointment as an “enormous honour”. He said he had intended to step down from Edinburgh City Council in 2017 anyway.

According to his House of Lords registered interests, McInnes is already a constitutional adviser to Scottish Secretary Alister Jack.

What does Mark McInnes do in the House of Lords?

McInnes is a member of two committees – the Common Frameworks Scrutiny Committee and the Communications and Digital Committee.

His focus areas are listed as the constitution, the UK, asylum and immigration, communities and families and international affairs.

McInnes’s Lords record shows a history of speaking on global human rights in places like Syria, Pakistan and Bahrain.

His last speech on the Union came on January 17, 2019, when he spoke during a debate titled “Brexit: Stability of the Union”.

“In my opinion, the Union — certainly in Scotland — has survived the Brexit stress test so far, but until we properly institute an improved, robust and regular opportunity for proper intergovernmental engagement, I fear that more stresses lie ahead,” he told members.

He disagreed that there is a need for a new constitutional convention or Act of Union, saying: “I fear that, certainly in Scotland, such a referendum on a new Act of union would not be a calm, dispassionate discussion on the pooling of resources in the UK but rather, once again a divisive and passionate independence referendum filled with fake news.”

How have people reacted to McInnes’s Number 10 appointment?

Ruth Davidson (below, left) is pleased with the appointment as the return to a “more traditional advisory network” over the previous Union Unit system.

“Thoroughly positive all around – both in design and personnel,” she said. “HMG finally getting it.”

The National:

Andy Maciver, former communications director for the Scottish Conservatives, described McInnes as “high quality”.

Scottish Tory MSP for the West of Scotland region Pam Gosal said McInnes would be a “strong voice for the Union”.

Pro-independence group Yes Morningside joked: “One of our local lords getting the recognition he deserves as a man of the people.”