Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will deliver the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review and Pre-Budget Report in a statement to MPs on October 9, the Treasury has said.
The announcement will stoke speculation over the possibility of a snap General Election this autumn.
October 9 - next Tuesday - is the latest date on which Prime Minister Gordon Brown can ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament if he wants to call an election on the widely-touted date of November 1.
It had been expected that the Prime Minister would schedule the CSR and PBR as soon as possible after Parliament returns on Monday to clear the decks for a possible election.
However, polls which show the Conservatives narrowing Labour's lead - and in one case eliminating it altogether - have cast doubt over whether Mr Brown will decide to take the plunge by calling a poll.
In a statement, the Treasury said: "The Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will present the Pre-Budget Report and the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review to the House of Commons on Tuesday 9th October at 3.45pm."
