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The boss of one of Britain鈥檚 largest business groups has hit out at the government鈥檚 indecision and inaction on boosting economic growth and criticised last week鈥檚 infrastructure push as too little to make a real difference.

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, has criticised ministers for not doing enough to turn around the 鈥減lodding growth鈥� in the economy.

Writing in the Observer newspaper, he said: 鈥淥ur political class - now adjourned for its summer break - wants companies to invest, create jobs and export more. All are laudable goals and ones that we would share. Yet there鈥檚 a fly in the ointment.

鈥淧oliticians seem to believe that businesses must be willing and ready to 鈥渟train every sinew鈥�, without doing the same themselves. Over recent weeks, we鈥檝e seen a flurry of announcements from a government eager to demonstrate that it is 鈥渄oing something鈥� about growth.

鈥淯nfortunately, it鈥檚 not enough.鈥�

Longworth said last week鈥檚 push to boost investment in rail infrastructure was welcome but the projects 鈥渨on鈥檛 start before 2014 and most of them have been trailed already鈥�.

He added that the government鈥檚 aviation strategy, also published this month, had 鈥渁 gigantic hole in the middle as airport capacity in the south east was again kicked into the long grass鈥�.

鈥淐ompanies recognise that ministers can鈥檛 magically alter world economic trends and that a solution to the ongoing eurozone crisis is not in the gift of Westminster.

鈥淵et those same companies will hold ministers to account when it comes to the levers they can control. The government could act far more boldly to improve the UK鈥檚 infrastructure, which is the essential underpinning of economic growth. At the same time, it must take a tough decision on aviation capacity, without which our ability to trade with the rest of the world will suffer.

鈥淪ince infrastructure investment here is insulated from the eurozone crisis - unlike exporting - it would create short-term confidence, jobs in the medium term and long-term competitiveness.

鈥淢inisters are right to use the public sector balance sheet to try to kick-start key projects. But why not go further and attempt a large-scale securitisation programme that unleashes private sector money for major infrastructure without piling further pressure on the deficit?鈥�

Longworth called for the government to create a business bank, which would 鈥渆nsure that there is always funding available to back bona fide growth companies, as in the US and Germany鈥�.

鈥淎lthough this would only start to deliver in the medium term, it would deliver an up-front confidence boost that is not to be underestimated,鈥� he said.