John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: "The Chancellor can't take risks with our hard-won market confidence. We even saw British bond yields below those on German debt last week.
"But there have been encouraging signs of bold Government thinking. There never was a better time for 'Plan A-plus'.
Video: Watch John Cridland on 'Plan A plus'
Video: Watch Ian McCafferty on eurozone crisis and UK firms
Read the CBI's letter to the Chancellor ahead of his autumn statement (pdf)
"The CBI wants to unlock private sector investment to kick-start growth. We want to get shovels in the ground, by using road-tolling schemes to attract private investment, and bringing forward planned road projects to improve congestion and create new jobs.
"The Chancellor has already signalled he will take urgent action to protect our energy-intensive industries, tackle youth unemployment and unfreeze the housing market."
The CBI's proposals for 'Plan A-plus'
The major priority is to make the decisions required to attract £200 billion of vital private sector investment into UK infrastructure in the next five years. Ten specific public sector infrastructure projects can also be brought forward at no extra cost, creating jobs and improving the roads in the short-term.
On infrastructure, the CBI wants to see:
• Two road-tolling projects financed by the private sector - widening the A14 from Rugby to Felixstowe and improving the A1 in the North East.
• Bringing ten publicly-funded road projects forward within the existing spending programme, to get shovels in the ground and ease congestion in transport networks. These include projects on the M25, M1 and M60.
• Re-instating a further 14 major road projects delayed in the 2010 spending review to fill the gap created in the pipeline from 2013, analysing whether or not private sector investment could be used. These include projects on the M1, M6 and A38. A full list is attached.
We believe the Government will act on the CBI's calls to:
• Support the UK's energy-intensive industries by giving a rebate to users on the carbon floor price.
• Stimulate the housing market by underwriting mortgage indemnity guarantees, reducing the risk of higher loan-to-value mortgages to buyers and lenders.
• Target measures on tackling youth unemployment, by incentivising firms which take on an unemployed person aged between 16 and 24 years.
The CBI has also called for improved access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as part of the Chancellor's credit-easing plans. This includes government measures to help non-bank debt finance for SMEs, and a mid-cap bond market. The trailed plans for a National Loan Guarantee Scheme are a very positive step in the right direction, especially given the difficult conditions in wholesale money markets.
