Funding offer on agenda as St David's deadline nears

As the clock ticks towards St David's Day, any cross-party agreement on the future of Welsh devolution is far from signed, sealed and delivered.

Different political parties - who were themselves players in the process - have already begun to voice their dissatisfaction with it, pointing fingers of blame at their political opponents.

I suggested earlier that money is a key issue - it usually is in politics - and the way the Welsh government is funded is at the heart of the issue. There's a consensus in Cardiff that Wales is under-funded and a reluctance in Westminster to write blank cheques to fill in the gap.

There are rumblings tonight of an offer from the UK government on funding - but the offer may have strings attached. One suggestion is that any offer to "solve" the funding issue could be dependent on the Welsh government agreeing to hold a referendum on income tax powers.

The Conservatives would see this as an opportunity to get the Welsh government to take responsibility for raising more of the money it spends. But with fewer than 100 hours to go until the St David's Day agreement is due to be revealed, it may seem rather late in the day to table a new offer.

It's just as well the agreement isn't being written on the vellum (made out of goatskin) used for the Queen's Speech at the state opening of parliament. That takes at least three days to dry.