Manufacturers want Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to scrap the autumn statement which they regard as a disruption to planning and a deterrent to investment.

Make UK, the self-styled “voice of UK manufacturing”, wants a return to a single annual fiscal statement in the spring to avoid the changes in policy in November.

Fhaheen Khan, senior economist at Make UK, said the tax and regulatory system is not fit for purpose and is failing to promote vital investment in skills, capital and green growth.

“This is not helped by the fact we have two fiscal statements a year, which hampers businesses’ investment planning,” said Khan. “We cannot continue with the flip-flopping and policy inconsistency if we are to shake the economy out of its torpor and promote long-term growth.”

Mr Hunt is due to deliver this year’s autumn statement on 22 November, a tradition stretching back to the 1970s. He is under pressure to tackle sluggish productivity and high levels of tax, but has said that cutting tax will be difficult as the battle to control inflation takes priority.

Make UK, which represents 20,000 companies, said the biggest concern among manufacturters is about regular changes to investment incentives.