Hi Daylebo:
The original notices state that one of the points was consolidating the 2 steps into one -
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... asedsystem
Also, the fees notices that just came out support that.. They show the combined fee for both the visa and the Tier 1 approval, as opposed to the current separate fees.. And the news release about the fees indicate that the new structure will only have a separate fee for LTR in some small cases, where the points based structure doesn't apply.
http://www.bia.homeoffice.gov.uk/siteco ... es/newfees
(The link there for the PDF on the fees indicate that the 2 now will be one in the future)
I know I've seen it more clearly identified, but I couldn't find the link that I was looking for. This should cover your concerns though. It's clear from the fees that it will be a once price, one step process, as they announced when they were initially looking at the changes.
I also remember reaading ashish's comments somewhere, that the process will have more local control since it's one step. There was a thread where that was discussed in detail, you can probably find it if you search for it on here. There seemed to be concern on the one side that more local control could make it more restrictive, but the other side felt that having the one-step process outweighed that since there was no need to 'reprove' that you qualified, asyou have to do today.
Hope that helps.