Housing: Moves would be put in place to build three million new homes by 2020, more than a quarter of a million more than previously planned. The Government would make this possible by releasing 550 publicly-owned brownfield sites owned by arms of central Government such as the Ministry of Defence and the NHS. A Housing Bill would create an agency to deliver more social housing, bring public land back into use for house-building, and support regeneration. A Planning Bill would speed up the planning system, which has been criticised for being too slow. On mortgages, the Government would consult on creating a system of "covered bonds" to help mortgage lenders to offer homebuyers more affordable 20 to 25-year fixed-rate mortgages, without being influenced by rising interest rates.

Education: An Educational Opportunity Bill would mean that all young people have to stay in education or training until the age of 18. The Bill would apply to England and Wales, with talks to come about the rest of the UK. Mr Brown pledged a "high status" vocational programme which teenagers could undertake, giving practical technical skills for all those between the ages of 16 and 18 who did not want to finish A-Levels, B-Techs or other academic courses. The moves were broadly hinted-at by Alan Johnson when he was Education Secretary in the Blair Government, but this makes them concrete. The move is seen by Mr Brown as crucial to improve people's skills in the face of growing global competition.

Terrorism: Talks would restart with Opposition parties over extending the current 28-day limit for holding terrorism suspects without charge. Mr Brown has been repeatedly pressed by police, who support an extension. Plans for a 90-day limit were defeated under the leadership of Tony Blair, thanks to a Labour backbench rebellion. Today's announcement is the first indication that Mr Brown supports the police in wanting to change the law. The Conservatives, who helped defeat plans for an extension under Mr Blair, say they are willing to talk the issue over with him. Mr Brown says he also wants to examine the possibility of using telephone intercept evidence in court - seen as crucial evidence in the monitoring of suspects - and wants a “broad consensus” on all the issues before proceeding to include them in a Criminal Justice Bill.

NHS: New reforms would be brought forward on the NHS, with a new body called Ofcare being set up to regulate the NHS and adult social care. This body would replace the existing Healthcare Commission, the Commission for Social Care Inspection and the Mental Health Act Commission. The regulation of doctors would be changed, so that erring doctors could be disciplined on a lower standard of proof. Pregnant woman would be given a grant to ensure they ate healthily.

Climate change: A new Bill would be set up to initiate specific targets for carbon reductions for each five-year period up to 2050. Mr Brown said it would make Britain the first country in the world to introduce a legal framework for reducing carbon emissions. The move is part of developing a post-Kyoto global emissions agreement.

Pensions: A Pensions Bill would require all employers to provide staff pension schemes, in an attempt to see off the possibility of future pensions crises like those seen in the past. In addition, Mr Brown said he would make an announcement “very soon” on helping people whose company pensions schemes had collapsed, believing he can move the 80% guarantee on Government bail-outs towards 90 per cent.

Constitutional Reform: A Constitutional Reform Bill would enshrine in law Gordon Brown’s measures to rebuild public trust in politics following the Blair years. This is likely to include handing over to Parliament some of the Royal Prerogative powers exercised by Ministers, as Mr Brown announced last week. The handing over of power to make war, however, would be handled by regulations rather than new legislation.

Employment: A new Bill would be put forward streamlining procedures for settling workplace disputes. The Employment Simplification Bill aims to ensure that more bosses and workers to settle their arguments without the need for tribunal hearings, which Mr Brown says cost businesses £180 million per year.

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