Pre-Budget report date announced

Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced the date for the 2004 pre-Budget report.

He told MPs during Treasury questions this morning that he would deliver the report to Parliament on 2 December.

The pre-Budget report, published every autumn, provides the Chancellor with an opportunity to explain his approach to the Budget in the spring and update his economic forecasts.

The report was introduced by Mr Brown in 1997 for this purpose, but has also been used to make major policy announcements such as the minimum income guarantee for pensioners.