Millions of workers will be able to ask for time-off to go on training courses while up to 4.5 million more parents will be able to ask for flexible working as Mr Brown pledged a "fairer" Britain.

Most first-time buyers will now be able to buy through shared equity schemes in a bid to boost the housing market. Also, £200m funding set aside for affordable homes will now be used to buy unsold new homes, providing social housing to rent.

Patients and parents will be given more power over hospitals and schools, incapacity benefit rules will be tightened and immigrants will have to pay into a fund to help councils meet the costs of migration. The Prime Minister unveiled 18 proposed Bills for the 2008-09 Parliamentary session aimed at drawing a line under seven turbulent months in Downing Street.

But Mr Brown stood accused of stealing more Tory ideas as Conservative leader David Cameron claimed 12 of the proposals were first aired by his party, while Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said he had "scraped the legislative barrel".

And Mr Brown's pledge of help for those affected by rising fuel and food prices was swiftly overshadowed by Bank of England Governor Mervyn King's stark warning that inflation could hit 3.7 per cent this year, leaving households to prepare for a further budget squeeze.

Mr Brown unveiled his draft legislative programme to MPs yesterday, 24 hours after finally appeasing angry backbench rebels over the 10p tax fiasco and days ahead of the vital Crewe and Nantwich byelection. He said he wanted a fairer and more prosperous Britain, with a priority of helping family finances.

As well as allowing 22 million workers to ask for time-off for training courses, he announced plans to triple the number of apprenticeships offered to 210,000 by 2011.

New and existing incapacity benefit claimants will have to go through new medical assessments to get them back to work, while social housing tenants who behave well will win rewards in a further "crackdown" on anti-social behaviour.

Directly elected representatives will give people more control over police priorities, while neighbourhood police teams will be set minimum standards.

An NHS constitution will enshrine the rights of patients, who will also be able to influence how much funding their local hospital gets according to how satisfied they are.

Local authorities will have power to intervene in the 600 secondary schools where fewer than 30 per cent of pupils get five good GCSEs including English and maths, as Mr Brown pledged that no school would be failing by 2011.

Newcomers to the country will have to pay into a migration impact fund to help communities with the cost of population changes, while immigrants will be forced to learn English and will be denied full benefits until they become a citizen.

In the wake of the Northern Rock bank crisis, savers will get extra protection for their money.

There will also be legislation to implement the recommendations of the Pitt Review into last summer's floods which devastated parts of Hull and South Yorkshire. The final recommendations are due later this year.

Despite welcoming many of the measures, Mr Cameron accused the Prime Minister of stealing a "dirty dozen" ideas, adding: "This Queen's Speech has nothing to do with the long-term needs of the country and everything to do with your short- term political survival."

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg said Mr Brown had faced "a desperate week", with early announcements on the 10p tax rate and "a rag bag of proposals" in the draft Queen's Speech.

MAIN POINTS

• Rights for employees to request time-off for training


• Parents of older children can request flexible working


• Number of apprenticeships trebled to 210,000


• Incapacity benefit claimants to undergo medical checks


• NHS constitution to set out patients' rights


• Powers for local authorities to intervene in "failing" schools


• A £200m fund to buy unsold new homes and rent them to social tenants


• £100m for shared ownership schemes, which will be available for the first time to all first-time buyers with household incomes below £60,000


• Newcomers have to pay into a migration impact fund reflecting additional burden on public services.