The Government is expected to merge the pre-budget report with the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR07) for a big announcement of its tax and spend plans. According to speculation, the date for the two is likely to be 17 October – after the party conferences, but before the official opening of Parliament. The move would be a break from tradition, which would normally see the pre-budget report announced in November. Despite speculation that PM Gordon Brown is paving the way for an early general election, it is unlikely to be the motivation for the shift. It would have to go at an earlier date if it was combined with the CSR07, due to the timing of the latter for local government. Departmental spending is then broken down into spending for different services and for different areas. An announcement any later than October would give civil servants too little time to conduct the number-crunching and get the figures out to councils ready to complete their budgets. One local government insider claimed putting the two announcements together could be the Government ‘trying to get all its bad news out in one go'. The announcement will give a strong indication of the economic direction of the new government. Already the public sector – and local government in particular – have been warned there will be very little cash in the coffers. However, Mr Brown will want his new chancellor, Alistair Darling, to maintain the economy without raising taxes, in an effort to gain popularity for the election, when it does happen. Mr Brown last year announced a 1p cut in income tax which would come into force in April – ideally placed for a May election.
