The Scottish Government plans to hold a second independence referendum in October next year, it was confirmed yesterday.
Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson said MSPs would be given a route map to the referendum in the coming weeks.
The Scottish Government has just published a paper setting out a "fresh" case for independence.
Mr Robertson told the BBC that the timescale was realistic, despite the Scottish Government having not yet passed the legislation that would be needed.
It has also not yet formally asked the UK Government to grant consent through what is known as a Section 30 order, or set out what it will do if that request is refused.
Mr Robertson said on Wednesday: "The First Minister made clear yesterday she intends to make an announcement to the Scottish Parliament in the forthcoming weeks about a route map towards a referendum, which we intend to hold next October.
"I am fully content with the prospectus beginning to be rolled out, with the announcements that will follow on the route map, about how that is going to be achieved, that we have a perfectly adequate window of opportunity both for legislation to be passed, for the opportunity for the people to scrutinise the prospectus the Scottish Government will publish and also hold opponents to account."
Doubt cast on timescale
But a former advisor to both Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor as First Minister, Alex Salmond, has cast doubt on whether it would be possible to hold a referendum in the timescale put forward by Mr Robertson.
Campbell Gunn said: "We're now 15, 16 months from when the referendum is likely to be held, we don't have a Section 30 order, it will probably end up in the courts.
"I just don't see the timescale working for the SNP."
Mr Robertson had been due to give a statement on the "benefits of independence" in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.
But the presiding officer refused to let him do so after accusing the Scottish Government of disrespecting the parliament by giving details of its plans to the media before it had told MSPs.
A spokeswoman for the UK Government said that "now is not the time to be talking about another referendum."
Work together
She said the public expected both the Scottish and UK governments to work together to tackle the cost of living, protect energy security, and lead the international response against Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
And Scottish Conservative MSP Craig Hoy said that the referendum could potentially be an "illegal vote", if it was held without a Section 30 order.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross has stated that he would urge voters to boycott any "illegal referendum".
Labour MSP Sarah Boyack accused Angus Robertson of "pie in the sky posturing", and said the SNP was "plucking dates out of a hat for another divisive referendum" while some Scots faced the choice between heating and eating.