Cameron in call for handover talks

In a letter to the Prime Minister, Mr Cameron said that he wanted the talks to open on Friday so that the Tories could explain to officials their priorities for government if they triumphed at the polls.

"Given that you have allowed members of the Cabinet to speculate openly that an election is to be called imminently, I am asking you today to give the necessary instructions for such meetings to begin immediately," he wrote. "I would like this to start tomorrow, before the actual campaign begins, which would be consistent with past precedent."

By convention, senior opposition spokesmen are given an opportunity to meet officials before an election to ensure the Civil Service is ready to implement their policies if they are elected.

In his letter, Mr Cameron disclosed that when Tony Blair was Prime Minister, he had written in April last year authorising such talks to go ahead from January 1 2009, ahead of a possible election that year.

The Conservative leader said that their immediate priorities for action would be an NHS Independence Bill to make doctors more accountable to patients and a renegotiation of the GP contract, and raising the threshold for inheritance tax to £1 million and abolishing stamp duty for first time home buyers on properties up to £250,000.

Mr Cameron also cited replacement of air passenger duty with an airline pollution duty levied on flights, the abolition of the "couple penalty" in the working tax credit and implementation of a programme of welfare reform, the establishment of a national security council within the Cabinet Office to co-ordinate the domestic and foreign aspects of national security policy, and the creation of a border police force.

Mr Cameron added: "The country will expect the Civil Service to be ready to put in place these real changes from the first day of a new Conservative government. Given the urgency, I would be grateful for a reply by the end of the day."

Unconfirmed reports have suggested that Mr Brown will hold a Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) and Pre-Budget Report (PBR) on Monday in order to allow himself to dissolve Parliament on Tuesday - the last date to declare a November 1 poll.

Speculation heightened when the Treasury confirmed that the CSR and PBR would be outlined to MPs in a single statement by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling. Previously, the reports - which set out the Government's spending and tax plans - have been held on separate days. However, the Treasury declined to give any precise date for Mr Darling's statement, saying only that it would come in October.