Devolution 'poses big English question'.

TEN years after the creation of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly, England is stuck in a "pre-devolution time-warp" and must change, says an MPs' report.

The House of Commons Justice Committee predicted Parliament will come under increasing pressure to resolve the so-called "English question".

It warned there were problems with all the proposed solutions, such as an English Parliament, regional assemblies or English votes for English laws.

The committee also called for urgent action to reform the Barnett Formula, which since the 1970s decides central government cash to the UK outside England.

In an inquiry timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 1999 devolution in Scotland and Wales, the committee quizzed ministers, MPs, members of devolved assemblies, academics, campaigners and civil servants on the English question.

Committee chairman Sir Alan Beith said: "Devolution has radically changed the way Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are governed and is changing the governance of the United Kingdom, but England, which has 84% of the population, is the unfinished business of devolution - stuck in a pre-devolution time warp, while the rest of the UK has moved on."

The cross-party committee advised against an English Parliament and English First Minister due to the difficulty of balancing powers with the Government and Prime Minister.