Referendum deal reached

A DEAL on the staging of the independence referendum reached a “positive conclusion” yesterday following discussions between the Scottish Secretary and Deputy First Minister.

The full agreement will now be presented to Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond for approval.

Mr Cameron and Mr Salmond will meet on Monday in Edinburgh to approve a deal on the staging of the ballot.

The independence referendum is expected to be held in Scotland in autumn 2014, with the ballot paper expected to have a single Yes/No question on whether Scotland should leave the United Kingdom.

It is also expected that the agreement will make provisions for 16-year-olds in Scotland to vote in the referendum.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Secretary Michael Moore met yesterday afternoon for talks.

Their discussions included the use of a Section 30 order which would transfer power to Holyrood to legislate on the referendum, due in late 2014.

In a joint statement issued after yesterday’s talks, they said: “We have resolved the issues that remained outstanding between us and reached a positive conclusion to our discussions.

“The full agreement, including the terms of the section 30 order, will now go to the First Minister and the Prime Minister for their discussion and approval.”

Mr Moore said: “I am very satisfied with the position we have arrived at.”