Scottish referendum 'must be authorised by UK government'
(40 minutes later)
Scottish Secretary Michael Moore is making a statement to the Commons on the legal status of a referendum on Scottish independence.
The Scottish Secretary has said it would be unconstitutional for a referendum on Scottish independence to be held without the authority of the UK government.
Mr Moore is expected to say the power to change Scotland's constitutional settlement rests with Westminster.
Michael Moore said the government would devolve the power to hold a poll to the Scottish Parliament only if it was "legal, fair and decisive".
He will add that a vote organised by the Scottish government would be purely advisory and open to legal challenge.
And he said he favoured a simple Yes or No question on independence.
Meanwhile, Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is finalising his party's referendum document.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond is finalising his referendum plans.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said his Cabinet would be putting the "finishing touches" to the consultation paper which will be published later this month and be open to public consultation.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) leader said his Cabinet would be putting the "finishing touches" to the consultation paper which will be published later this month and be open to public scrutiny.
In the Commons, Mr Moore is outlining the conditions under which he would offer to transfer the power to Holyrood.
'Common interest'
The SNP, which won an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament elections last May, has pledged to hold a referendum on independence in the second half of its five-year term.
Mr Moore told MPs the power to hold a referendum on Scotland future status within the UK was "reserved" to Westminster under laws passed in 1998 paving the way for a referendum on Scottish devolution.
The Tory-Lib Dem coalition government at Westminster said that under the terms of the 1998 Scotland Act, which set up the devolved administration, the Scottish government could hold a referendum but the result would only have advisory status.
Any referendum held without the authority of the UK government was likely to be open to legal challenge, he said.
Mr Moore, the Lib Dem MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk, said he wanted the SNP government to hold a vote which was "fair, decisive and clear".
But he said he wanted to work with the SNP - whom he acknowledged had won a majority victory in last year's Scottish election - and it was in their "common interest" that any poll was legal and properly conducted.
He has backed a Yes/No vote on independence and not one which involved a second question on greater powers for the Scottish Parliament.
"It is essential that the referendum is legal, fair and decisive," he said. "It is not about who is calling the shots. It is about enabling the people of Scotland to participate in a legal referendum."
Mr Salmond accused the UK government of being in a "state of total confusion".
He added that a referendum should be "made in Scotland, by the people of Scotland".
He said: "The issue is not Section 30 of the Scotland Act. The issue is the entirely unacceptable Tory attempt to impose London strings on Scotland's referendum, from a Westminster government with absolutely no mandate for these matters.
But the SNP's leader in Westminster, Angus Robertson, accused the UK government of trying to "dictate the terms" of the referendum, including the date when a poll was held, what the question would be and who would be allowed to take part.
"In stark contrast to Westminster's disarray, the Scottish government will continue with the orderly process of bringing forward the referendum in the second half of this parliament."
Speaking to the BBC's Today programme, Danny Alexander, Chief Secretary to the Treasury and a Scottish Lib Dem MP, said the government was bringing forward proposals now in order to avoid years of legal wrangling between Holyrood and Westminster.
He explained: "What we are trying to do today is set out a proposal to allow Scotland to have what the SNP promised, which was a referendum on independence which was fair, legal and decisive and the timing issue is clearly an important issue."
Mr Alexander believed it was important to have a debate about timing which involved "other people in Scotland" besides the Scottish government.
He added that there were real dangers to delaying a referendum to potentially 2016.
'Range of voices'
Mr Alexander said: "There are dangers in terms of investment, in terms of jobs and growth. We are already seeing publicly and privately business organisations, business groups saying they are concerned about the length of time this is taking.
"I hope that by opening up a debate on timing we will see a whole range of voices in Scotland talking about this, because of course the constitutional position in Scotland historically has never been the preserve of just one political party."
Mr Moore's statement will talk of a temporary transfer of power to the Scottish Parliament but it will not impose any 18-month time limit, which had previously been mooted.
However, the three Unionist parties - Conservatives, Lib Dems and Labour - all argue that a vote should come sooner rather than later.
The UK government is also opposed to SNP proposals to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the referendum.
And it will insist on the Electoral Commission playing a role in the running of the vote.
On Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron said he was not trying to "dictate" the terms of a Scottish independence referendum.
'Reality upon us'
Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused Mr Cameron of "a blatant attempt to interfere" in a decision that should be for the Scottish government and Scottish people.
The Shadow Scottish Secretary Margaret Curran said the electorate had made it clear it wanted the referendum debate.
The Labour MP told BBC Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme: "The reality is now upon us. Scotland is going to have a referendum and we need to get in and talk about the substance of that, we need to talk about Scotland's future.
"My party's point is that we need to get this referendum out of the way.
"There are clear tests that need to be met by both the UK government and by the Scottish government. We need to have a clear and unambiguous debate.
"I don't think that for a second we should scare and frighten people about the future of Scotland at all. I think it will be a very exciting debate, a very invigorating debate."
Scotland's Tory leader Ruth Davidson said she wanted to see the UK and Scottish governments working together.
In an interview with the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme, she said: "What the government in Westminster has said is, there is a way in which we can have a referendum that is legal, we have had the legal advice on this, we have to empower you to be able to hold it, that is what we want to do.
"Then suddenly the SNP has thrown up its hands and said, this is an outrage. What we need is for both governments to work together, that is what Scots want."
