Queen does not arrive in Bermuda until March 8. But in order to accommodate Budget Day, the Opposition response, and 42 hours of debate before then, the Budget must be delivered on Monday, February 14, Finance Minister the Hon.

David Saul told The Royal Gazette .

The debate would be concluded on March 7, he said yesterday. Government Budgets used to be delivered on Fridays. But for the last three years, Budget Day was Wednesday.

The change was made to add an extra day of Budget debate because of the increasing size and complexity of the financial document, Dr. Saul said.

Moving the Budget ahead two days would create "no problem'' for Government, he said.

"We had the Budget speech all finished on Christmas Eve,'' he said. Dr. Saul "polished it up'' about a week before he left for the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on January 25.

No "substantive'' changes were made, he said.

After the February 14 Budget Day, the Opposition Reply to the Budget is set for February 21.

Detailed debate begins on February 23, continuing on February 25, February 28, March 2, March 4, and March 7.