MICHAEL Gove shared details of when he thinks another Scottish independence referendum will happen as he faced questions about the future governance of the UK.
The Cabinet Office minister was being quizzed by the House of Lords Constitution Committee where he spoke about the UK Government's vision of the Union.
During the hour-long session, Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield asked Gove about contingency planning for future referendums given the lack in both the 2014 indyref and 2016 Brexit vote.
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Hennessy, a crossbench peer, said: "The Cameron cabinet specifically forbade Whitehall departments to do any contingency planning and the same happened in the run-up to the Brexit referendum two years later.
"To be frank, I thought that was a lapse in the duty of care governments have for all people of these islands. Could you undertake that if we do have another Scottish referendum in your time that that won't happen, there will be proper contingency planning this time?"
Gove took a moment to reply taking Hennessy's point as "a fair one" before saying that he does not think we should be having a referendum "any time soon".
However, he continued: "Should there be a referendum in the future, then I think it is important that we learn lessons from the 2014 referendum, and the lesson that you've pointed out is a fair one.
"I make no criticism of anyone involved in the Edinburgh agreement or anything after that where they were entering uncharted territory. But of course, we can learn from that about what might be a better approach in the future."
Further pushed by Hennessy on whether that is an undertaking or a "pledge" to make contingency plans for future votes on Scotland's future, Gove responded: "I hope I'll be enjoying my retirement by the time that a next independence referendum comes along, but that's in the hands of others."
The response was met with light chortles from those involved in the virtual meeting as Hennessy said: "Anyone would think you're a politician."
Michael Gove will turn 54 in August. The state pension age is under review but the Cabinet Office minister will reach retirement age by around 2033.
Boris Johnson has previously said that he would not be in favour of a second referendum until 2055.
READ MORE: Tony Blair's government knew Holyrood could hold indyref, email reveals
Earlier in the questioning, Gove said that the SNP want to create a sense of "inevitability" of independence for Scotland in response to a question about public attitudes towards the Union.
Life peer Lord Dunlop asked Gove about what Cabinet Office research tells him about attitudes to the Union and implications for how the UK is governed "now and in the future".
Gove said that the SNP want to suggest that "Scotland's journey is out of the United Kingdom and that every step constitutionally along the way over the course of the last 20 or more years is in that direction".
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He added that, in his view, the "sense of inevitability" the SNP wants needs momentum behind it and this was "checked" at the recent Holyrood election.
He added: "We've subsequently seen a subsidence for support in separation in Scotland.
"I think it would be quite wrong for anyone to be complacent about the situation - we're certainly not - but I think that it is important to recognise what is driving the SNP's agenda here."
The Holyrood election in May saw 64 SNP MSPs and seven Scottish Green MSPs elected to the Scottish Parliament. A majority of pro-independence MSPs in the parliament which has 129 total members.
Both parties stood on a manifesto commitment of holding a second independence referendum within this parliamentary term.
The full question session with Michael Gove about the future governance of the UK can be viewed by clicking HERE
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