Autumn Statement: CBI seeks £6bn Hammond investment boost

The CBI has published a wish-list of actions it hopes the Chancellor will follow as he makes his first Autumn Statement next month.

The business lobby group argues that Philip Hammond should be using the country's historically low interest rates to borrow more.

It has suggested a package of investment measures - paid for through a 2% increase in public spending annually amounting to £6bn.

The CBI said such a move would help bolster confidence in the wake of the UK's vote to leave the EU.

Mr Hammond has already signalled a fiscal policy reset when he stands up in the Commons to deliver his statement on 23 November.

It marks a limited shift away from his predecessor's focus on austerity and initial target, scrapped by George Osborne a week after the vote, to return a budget surplus by 2020.

But Mr Hammond has ruled out a splurge in spending.

The CBI's ideas include more money for childcare, maternity pay, the building of new homes and the country's digital infrastructure.

It also said new transport investment should include completing dual carriageway on the A1 from Newcastle to the Scottish border.

The organisation's director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, said: "The Chancellor should capitalise on the UK's core strengths, setting out a pro-enterprise agenda that instils confidence and kick starts investment.

"With huge variations in productivity between different parts of the country, the top priority must be to set out a programme that will get our regions firing on all cylinders and supports businesses to innovate, invest and create jobs in the years ahead.

"Amid economic uncertainty, it's important that the Government does what it can to incentivise businesses to invest today, rather than postpone until tomorrow."