The Scottish Government today struck a deal with the Liberal Democrats which should ensure its £33 billion budget is passed tomorrow.
Finance Secretary John Swinney said the Government had reached an agreement which will see all 16 Lib Dem MSPs back the budget.
At the same time Scottish Parliament business managers announced they have agreed to fast-track the budget.
The move, which still has to be approved by MSPs, means that the Government's spending plan should be passed tomorrow.
The Liberal Democrats voted against the minority SNP administration's budget in Holyrood last week after ministers rejected their call for a 2p cut in income tax.
But following the defeat of the Bill - when Labour the Greens and the Lib Dems all voted against the Government - Mr Swinney and First Minister Alex Salmond held talks with opposition leaders to try to reach an agreement.
Today Mr Swinney said: "I'm very pleased to say that today we have reached agreement with the Liberal Democrats which will assure their support for the Government's budget when it is presented to Parliament tomorrow.
"I think its important to say at the outset that quite clearly we do not agree on absolutely everything between the Government and the Liberal Democrats.
"But what we have secured is an agreement that will ensure the Government's budget can be passed."
Mr Swinney added that the deal with the Liberal Democrats did not have any cost implications for the budget, saying it was about "strategic economic and financial engagement".
Under the agreement the Scottish Government will make a submission to the Calman Commission - a Westminster-backed body which is studying the future of devolution - regarding the extension of Holyrood's borrowing powers.
The deal will also see the creation of a finance sector jobs task force and a cross-party working group to examine public spending in Scotland.
In addition ministers have confirmed the Scottish Futures Trust - the Government's alternative to PPP/PFI funding - will commission its first school projects in 2009 and that money will be made available for these.
The deal will also see the Government recommend to its Council of Economic Advisers that it "becomes more involved in the process of preparing the country to tackle the issues of economic recovery and more involved in assessing the Government's approach to its budget".
Mr Swinney added that the deal included "a number of things" the Government had not been planning to do.
He said: "We were not planning to have a finance sector jobs task force. We were not planning to undertake a submission to the Calman Commission, we were not planning to take forward a broadly based spending review with other parties.
"I've not had to find additional resources for this.
"That's why I think the discussion is much more about strategic economic and financial engagement as an example of how parties can work together.
Mr Swinney went on: "It doesn't have to be about sums of money going to particular projects. What it can be about is strategic co-operation and discussion to ensure that we find common ground and common approaches."
But Mr Swinney did not say if any deal had been done with either Labour or the Greens.
The finance secretary said Mr Salmond had "productive and constructive discussions" with Mr Gray this morning.
He would only add: "We will be discussing further at cabinet this afternoon the progress that has been made in the discussions with the Labour Party and the Greens."
The two Green MSPs voted against the budget after rejecting the offer of a £22 million home insulation fund - which was increased at the last minute to £33 million.
Today Mr Swinney said he had no extra money for this, stating: "I set out to Parliament what resources I had at my disposal last week. There are no additional resources at my disposal."
But he added: "The Government is working to ensure we have the broadest possible support for the budget tomorrow. That's what we are working to try to achieve."
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