SCOTTISH Secretary Michael Moore's meeting with Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday could be the first in a series before a historic deal on the independence referendum is sealed, it was suggested last night.

Coalition sources, while hopeful agreement can be reached, pointed to the possibility of "several meetings" between the two governments before David Cameron's summit with Alex Salmond, which is pencilled in for early October.

Coincidentally, the Prime Minister and the First Minister will be in the same room next week when the Joint Ministerial Committee meets in Downing Street to discuss the economy.

However, it could also provide an opportunity for not only Mr Cameron and Mr Salmond to talk about the referendum issue but also Mr Moore and Ms Sturgeon, who will also be there. After last week's positive meeting between the DFM and David Mundell, the Scotland Office Minister, hopes are high that this week's meeting at the Scotland Office in Edinburgh will continue in the same vein.

"It's definitely do-able with goodwill on both sides," Mr Mundell told The Herald.

The key political issue remaining is whether or not Mr Salmond will agree to a single yes/no question on the ballot paper or support a second question on more powers for Holyrood.

After months of believing the First Minister will opt for so-called "devo-max", Whitehall insiders are increasingly confident he will agree to a single question. One insider told The Herald: "The tone has changed and we're feeling positive. It's moving in the right direction."

Another Coalition source said: "We are going into these talks hoping to make some real progress. On the surface, we are not that far apart at all. It's not a done deal yet but it's difficult to now see the issue that would stop us from getting an agreement."

The UK Government appears confident Mr Salmond will agree to a single referendum question on the basis of three things:

l The appointment of Ms Sturgeon to her constitutional role given that she publicly came out in favour of a single question.

l The lack of any reference to a second question in Mr Salmond's keynote address on the legislative programme last week.

l The observation by businessman Jim McColl, who came out in favour of independence last week and is said to be close to the FM, that devo-max was not gaining enough support.

Meantime, the Scottish Government appeared equally upbeat about the prospects of a deal soon. A spokeswoman said: "We're hopeful that on Thursday we will make significant progress towards the final deal."