LONDON, Dec 10 - Following are highlights of Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown's pre-budget report delivered to parliament on Wednesday. The PBR updates the Treasury's economic and fiscal forecasts and foreshadows legislatives changes in next spring's main budget: THIS ITEM WILL BE UPDATED THROUGHOUT THE STATEMENT
ECONOMY
Brown said economic growth is strengthing and the British economy has grown consistently in every quarter since 1997 even when the U.S. and some European countries have shrunk during some quarters. Growth this year will be 2.1 percent, he said, meeting his budget forecast of 2.0 to 2.5 percent. Growth next year and the in 2005 will be 3.0 to 3.5 percent, he said, the same forecast as in April. "Britain has enjoyed the longest period of peacetime growth since records began in 1870," Brown said. Brown said in his April budget that GDP would rise by 2.0 percent to 2.5 percent in 2003, 3.0 to 3.5 percent and 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2004 and 2005.. He also forecast in April a PSNB of 27 billion pounds in 2003/04, 24 billion in 2004/05, 23 billion in 2005/06, 22 billion in 2006/07 and 22 billion in 2007/08. He forecast a surplus on current budget of -8 billion pounds in 2003/04, -1 billion in 2004/05, 2 billion in 2005/06, 6 billion in 2006/07 and nine billion in 2007/08.//