The House of Commons is to have no full (updated 18Nov 2012) debate on whether the Scottish Parliament should be made competent on the matter of a referendum in Scotland replacing parliamentary election as the method of determining the representation or non representation of the 59 constituencies in Scotland in the Union Parliament.

 An Order in Council (OIC) is being used to avoid constitutional debate.

 No Order in Council  (OIC) to permit an amendment to the Schedule 5 of the 1998 Scotland Act (which reserves the matter of the Union to the Union Parliament) has yet been approved by Her Majesty.

Without the OIC the Scottish Parliament is not competent on the matter of the Union – it remains tied to the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998.

The Scottish Parliament has now set up a committee: Referendum (Scotland) Bill Committee.