A PACKAGE of measures to boost industry -- which could include tax

changes -- will be announced by Chancellor Norman Lamont when he makes

his Autumn Statement to the Commons next Thursday.

Despite the evident desire of Whitehall sources to cloak the package

in mystery, it seems clear that it will include a number of measures to

fulfil the Prime Minister's commitment to go for growth and jobs.

New ways of involving private money in public projects and some

encouragement to employers -- perhaps by cutting their National

Insurance contributions per employee -- were being discussed by MPs last

night.

The Cabinet, after another two-and-a-half hours on public spending

plans for next year, ended their third session by agreeing that the

final tidying up would have to be done by the traditional method of

bilateral discussions between the Chancellor, his Treasury Chief

Secretary Michael Portillo and individual Ministers.

This did not mean that the round-the-Cabinet-table method had failed,

officials emphasised.

Ministers had succeeded in keeping to the #244.5 billion target they

had set themselves and had resolved the major spending questions with

the greatest political implications.

However, there still appears to be some work to be done on the

announcement of grant support for local authorities which will affect

the level of council tax bills, which will not be presented to the

Commons by the English, Scottish and Welsh Ministers responsible for

some time after the Autumn Statement.

Social Security Secretary Peter Lilley -- who has been defending his

budget which amounts to nearly a third of

total spending -- will make a statement after Mr Lamont. Pensions and

unemployment benefit are expected to be protected, but other benefits

could be frozen, increased by less than the inflation rate or taxed.

It emerged that the additional industry package has not been and will

not be discussed by the Cabinet as a whole but has been put together by

Mr Major, Mr Lamont and the few Ministers affected, who include Mr

Michael Heseltine, President of the Board of Trade, and Mr Lilley.

Despite her protests, the employment training budget of Employment

Secretary Gillian Shephard looks likely to be cut back.