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Business leaders are looking to Chancellor Alistair Darling to use today's pre-Budget report to outline measures to boost lending to firms, rethink future tax increases and bring the national budget under control.

The directors general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the CBI have said the government needs a robust strategy to help the UK out of recession.

BCC director general David Frost called for measures to boost economic growth, job creation and help the private sector lead a recovery. In the short term, the BCC wants an extension to the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme and an increase to the threshold of annual investment allowance to boost output.

In the medium term, the BCC said 2011's planned rise in national insurance should be scrapped and the government should avoid cutting investment in infrastructure such as transport and energy.

Frost said: "When you break it down, the solutions to the UK's current problems are quite obvious: allow the private sector to generate investment, growth and jobs by reducing red tape and tax burden; provide support and incentives where needed; and rebalance the economy away from debt and the private sector."

The CBI, meanwhile, wrote to the Chancellor in October to outline its suggestions for economic recovery.

Director general Richard Lambert urged the government to support research and development in low-carbon innovation and help small and medium-sized firms raise money for investment.

The CBI also called for regulatory changes, for example in areas such as pension contibutions, landfill tax and business rates, to make it easier for firms to operate in an already challenging environment. Click here to read Lambert's letter to the Chancellor.

"We believe that economic and fiscal stability go hand in hand. In order for the economy to restructure in response to the changed environment, all potential sources of instability must be addressed," said Lambert.

Eight plastics industry bodies also wrote to the Chancellor asking him to extend the suspension of stamp duty and postpone the increase in small companies corporation tax to help members deal with the recession.

The Chancellor will deliver the pre-Budget report to the House of Commons at 12.30 today.

Click here for today's headlines from across the packaging industry