Chancellor outlines help over childcare

Gordon Brown will outline new measures next week to help parents get back to work after the birth of a child.

He will say childcare should become more flexible to suit working parents' busy lives.

Helping working families will be a key theme in his pre-Budget report but detail is not expected until closer to the general election. He will devote much of his Commons speech to setting out how Britain should prepare for economic challenges over 20 or 30 years.

There has been speculation he may cut stamp duty and inheritance tax but he has yet to brief the full Cabinet.

Shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin is preparing a fierce attack on Mr Brown for wasting money for little result.