Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Cheryl Gillan (Conservative). It was answered on Wednesday, 17 March 2010 on behalf of the Wales Office.

Devolution Settlement

Question: On his own website, the Secretary of State says that it is "clear" to him""that a referendum held before or in 2011 would be lost"," and that further powers should not be granted""today…tomorrow, nor even next year or the year after that"." Given these comments, will he be accepting the referendum request currently sitting on his desk, or, like so many of his colleagues, will he be waiting for any decisions to be taken by an incoming Conservative Government?

Answer: As the hon. Lady very well knows, Labour is the party of devolution. We are the only party that has delivered any extra powers for Wales, and I, as Secretary of State, am proud that I legislated in the 2006 Act for the option of a referendum to deliver full law-making powers for the Welsh Assembly Government, and in time I am sure that that will come about. Specifically, as she has asked, work is continuing among my officials in response to the First Minister's request under the 2006 Act to take this process forward, so that a referendum can be called as and when it is required.

Secondary information