IN a further concession to Ulster Unionists, the British government is expected soon to announce an enlarged role for the Northern Ireland Grand Committee at Westminster.
The proposed reforms - which would allow the committee to question Ministers, scrutinise legislation and sit in Northern Ireland - will be seen as a further "integrationist" measure, following the earlier creation of the Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs.
The timing of the move - signalled by the prime minister at last October's Conservative Party conference - could provide an indication of Mr John Major's thinking on the date for the general election.
Officially, consultations on the proposal are continuing between the parties and Sir Patrick Mayhew, the Northern Ireland Secretary. A spokeswoman at the Northern Ireland Office said they would want to establish "a measure of consensus" on the plan to enhance the committee's powers and functions in line with the Scottish and Welsh models.
However, usually reliable sources at Westminster claim the decision has been made, although it may not be announced until some time after the Wirral South by-election, scheduled for February 27th. The belief is that the government will hold back the announcement in case Labour should be tempted, given a victory at the Wirral, to launch a "no confidence" vote against the government.
Sources also say that timetable would be consistent with attempts by Mr Major to keep alive his options for a general election on May 1st.
The proposed reforms would require changes to the standing orders of the House of Commons, on a government motion. Labour would seem unlikely to try to block the measure, although Dr Mo Mowlam, the Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, has argued that attempts to improve accountability, prior to a negotiated settlement, should happen "across the board, not just in Westminster".
Responding to Mr Major's original announcement, Dr Mowlam said: "Labour have proposed the introduction of a Freedom of Information Act, and measures to make Northern Ireland's quangos more open and representative of both communities.
"This is extremely important in light of the . . . decision of the Northern Ireland Housing Council not to renominate a nationalist representative to the Northern Ireland Housing Executive. John Major should act, through consultation with the Northern Ireland parties, to address all these concerns, not just procedures at Westminster," Dr Mowlam said.
Reform of procedures has long been central to the UUP's agenda at Westminster, and to its argument that arrangements for the North should wherever possible be brought into line with those for other parts of the United Kingdom.
The reform of the Scottish brand Committee was in turn central to the Conservative Party's counter-offensive against Labour plans for a tax-raising parliament in Edinburgh.