Scottish ministers are set to ditch plans to hold a referendum on independence before next year's Holyrood elections.

First Minister Alex Salmond is instead planning to make the issue central to campaigning for the 2011 poll.

The issue will come under discussion at next week's meeting of Mr Salmond's cabinet, but the proposed vote is likely to be voted down by opposition parties.

Before entering the 2007 election, the SNP had pledged to hold a referendum with a preferred date for the vote of St Andrew's Day this year.

However, a spokesman for Mr Salmond said on Sunday: "Tactically, we are deciding whether to introduce a bill to allow the unionist parties to vote it down or rather to publish the bill and concentrate on canvassing public support.

"A new, re-elected SNP government will be in a powerful position to secure passage of the referendum, having successfully mobilised the people over the blocking tactics of the unionist parties."

Opinion on the issue was canvassed at a meeting of party MSPs in Perth last week.

A draft bill, published in February, suggested a two-question referendum would cost around £9.5m.

Voters would be asked if they backed increasing the powers of the Scottish Parliament, and then whether they agreed that "the Parliament's powers should also be extended to enable independence to be achieved".

The proposed bill has been consistently opposed by Labour, the Liberal democrats and Conservative at Holyrood - and they could combine to reject the measure.

Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray said: "This climb down is a humiliation for him and embarrassment for his government. It is the ultimate vanity project to waste millions, publishing a bill on a referendum nobody wants and not even bring it to parliament."