Bill Paves Way For Devolution

No date has yet been set for the referendums, but Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar has said he hopes they will take place as soon as practicable, probably in early autumn.

Around £50 million has been assigned towards the creation of a Scottish parliament and a Welsh assembly. Organising the referendums will cost approximately £8 million. Setting up the Scottish parliament will cost between £18-25 million, while the Welsh Assembly will cost between £5-15 million.

The Welsh people will be asked if they want their own assembly, while the Scots will be asked two questions: first, whether they want their own Parliament, and second, whether it should have the power to raise and lower tax.

Dewar: Fast pace on devolution

The Prime Minister has promised that the White Paper, setting out the Government's devolution plans, will be published well before the people are asked to decide. It looks set to be unveiled in July.

Mr Dewar said yesterday that the legislation on the referendums is a top Government priority. He will open debate on the constitution part of the Queen's Speech in the Commons tomorrow, and the Second Reading of the Referendums Bill is planned for early next week.

Lib Dems Oppose Plans

The Conservative Party Chairman, Brian Mawhinney, criticised the Labour proposals on funding grounds. "We know they will have to find £8 million more public expenditure," Dr Mawhinney said. "We need to be told which programmes will face funding cuts as a consequence". He accused Labour of having "deliberately misled people during the election". He declared: "We said in November 1996 that a Scottish referendum would cost £2.3 million. Labour said 'this is a lie...the Tories have made no provision for referendums coinciding with other elections and so their costing basis is entirely flawed'." Dr Mawhinney added: "Part of our case during the election was that Labour would say anything to get elected. This is the clearest evidence so far of that truth. More will follow."

The Liberal Democrats have said they will to oppose the Government's devolution plans. The Scottish Liberal Democrat Leader Jim Wallace told a Westminster news conference that his party did not see any need for a referendum because the people of Scotland and Wales had voted overwhelming for pro-devolution parties in the election.

Mr Wallace said the Liberal Democrats would oppose the Bill's Second Reading and push for the second question, asking the Scottish people to endorse tax-raising powers, to be dropped.

Mr Wallace said the Parliament should be given tax-raising powers and a clause specifying this could be put into a single question.

But he stressed: "We are not going to mess around with the Bill in terms of trying to use procedural devices to slow it down, we want Scottish Home Rule."

Campaigners for a Scottish parliament

The organisers of Scotland Forward, the umbrella group campaigning for a Scottish Parliament, said the group would remain independent of political parties.

They said they planned a series of national and local events throughout Scotland to increase the profile of the campaign for a Scottish Parliament in the run up to the referendum, due to take place this autumn.

The Scottish National Party Leader Alex Salmond said yesterday that it was essential the White Paper was published as soon as possible so the Scottish people could see what they were voting for.

He also said the SNP would be pushing for the referendum to contain an option for Scottish independence from the rest of the UK.

"Excluding the independence option is a denial of democracy," he said. Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Jim Wallace said the referendum was not needed because the vast majority of Scottish MPs were elected two weeks ago on a pro-devolution platform."

"If ever the settled will of the Scottish people was made plain, it was then," he said.

Background briefings.