Chancellor brings forward debt plan to 31 October

Kwasi Kwarteng will set out his plan for balancing the government's finances on 31 October, nearly a month ahead of the original date.

The fiscal statement is expected to detail how the chancellor intends to pay for £43bn of tax cuts as well as plans to reduce debt.

Mr Kwarteng had previously insisted he would announce plans on 23 November.

However, financial markets reacted badly to a lack of detail when he laid out his mini-budget last month.

Mr Kwarteng's refusal to publish a draft report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to accompany the mini-budget on 23 September also rattled markets and some MPs.

The pound tumbled against the dollar to a record low of $1.03 while the government's cost of borrowing soared and the Bank of England was forced to step in to bail-out pension funds. Since then, the pound has regained ground and is now trading at $1.10.

The OBR, the independent budget watchdog, will now publish a report alongside Mr Kwarteng's statement at the end of October. Its forecasts will give an indication of the health of the nation's finances.

The new date means Mr Kwarteng's fiscal statement will be published before the Bank of England announces its latest decision on interest rates on 3 November.

The Bank is widely expected to raise interest rates for the eighth time since last December with many economists forecasting a sharper rise than previous increases.