Chancellor Gordon Brown effectively unveiled his Pre-Budget Report a week early yesterday.

He gave the CBI annual conference a wide insight into the changes he intends to make.

Though detail was naturally sketchy, it was clear that widespread reform of many areas of the economy is in the offing.

On planning, he admitted it had been inflexible for decades.

"I will set out in the Pre Budget Report the next stage of our reforms to make planning law and procedures simpler more efficient and more responsive to business and the long- term needs of the economy."

On transport, Britain was still paying the price for decades of underinvestment. Labour was doubling spending and would work with business to agree future priorities and how the public and private sectors could come together to deliver them.

On tax, the Pre Budget Report would continue to ensure rewards for success and examine new incentives for investment.

There will be an update on the ten year science plan while the Pre Budget Report would also report on changes and improvements in the R&D tax credit.

"On housing, we all know that as the economy has grown supply has not kept pace with demand, and has a negative impact on business and the performance of the UK economy."

He said he would address the problem by implementing the recommendations of the Barker committee.

The Government would radically reform further education and do more to encourage pay flexibility.

He went on: "On enterprise, where there are now 575,000 more businesses than in 1997 - over 3,500 new businesses created every week - the Pre Budget Report will set out the next steps to encourage young British people with ideas to become entrepreneurs."

Promising a lighter touch on regulation, something he had pledged in a speech to the Institute of Directors last week, he confirmed reports that changes would mean businesses saving up to #300 million a year of administration burdens.

Mr Brown said: "For example, for 90 per cent of companies we will abolish the form business complains to me about most, form 42 for employee share awards. This will benefit three hundred thousand companies every year.

"By, in addition, simplifying tax forms we will save employers from at least one million queries every year. And you will be pleased to know that to help two million small businesses we plan a new simpler self-assessment which we are piloting from next April.

"Coordinating the work of Companies House and Revenue and Customs, we are consulting on how best to introduce a single filing date, benefiting one million companies. And as a first stage in working towards a single point of contact for business on tax issues, I want to discuss the potential benefits of unified registration for all taxes."

On financial services, Mr Brown said he would publish ten new simplification and deregulatory measures to cut demands for information, forms and reporting requirements.

He went on: "For some time I have been concerned about what is called the goldplating of European regulation where in the process of translation into our own UK laws we end up with additional and unnecessary burdens.

"So I have asked Neil Davidson QC, the former Solicitor General for Scotland, to work with departments and the better regulation executive to conduct a full audit of all areas where gold plating of European regulation has in fact led to additional burdens so they can be addressed and where possible removed. And going forward we will rigorously enforce guidelines prohibiting goldplating."

As an initial step, Mr Brown will announce that the Government is dropping its plan to implement the so- called Operating and Financial Review - saving around 1,300 of the UK's largest listed companies up to #33 million a year in total.

Meanwhile the Office for National Statistics is to be made independent of Government.

Plans to do so would be published early in the New Year.